


An Author's Inspiration

by VitalCakes



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Anal Sex, Angst, Blow Jobs, Bottom Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Drunk Levi, Drunk Sex, F/F, F/M, High School Student Eren Yeager, Implied Relationships, M/M, Minor Levi/Erwin Smith, One Night Stands, One-Sided Relationship, Past Relationship(s), Rough Oral Sex, Smut, Student Eren Yeager, Top Eren Yeager
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-08
Updated: 2017-02-23
Packaged: 2018-03-16 20:18:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 30
Words: 47,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3501500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VitalCakes/pseuds/VitalCakes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>H. Strongest, a striving author, finds himself in a state in which every author has been before. He has an extreme case of writer's block. So extreme, in fact, that he actually needs to go outside for inspiration. Maybe then he'll be able to find someone to become the main character for his new book.</p><p>And that's where Eren comes in.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> So um, this is my first story up on this site and I couldn't be more excited! I just wanted to let you guys know that the story won't be in 1st person, it will be in 3rd person, switching from Levi and Eren's POV, and maybe a few other characters from time to time depending on the chapter. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy the prologue!! I hope it's good, because I came up with the story idea on a whim, so... Yep.
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> warning it's cringey read at your own risk -~-

"The mysterious novelist, 'H. Strongest', has done it again! In his new novel, 'Through a Child's Eyes', we take a journey through the life of 7-year-old Nathan Woodings. 'Nathan has to go through troubles that no one should have to deal with at such an age,' Strongest told us through a private computer interview. 'He befriends 2 kids who can help him through these struggles, but when disaster strikes the poor boy again, Nathan has to make the choice of his life.'

"H.S. then proceeded to tell us that if we wanted further information we should, 'Just read the book ourselves.' On other news tonight..." The reporter on the screen continued to talk about how there was a terrible accident on the freeway due to the rain. I sighed, knowing that the rain has been going on non-stop all week.

"Eren!" I heard Mikasa call me from the other side of the house. "Come here for a second!" I got up from my spot on the couch and turned off the TV in the process.

"Coming!" I shouted back. When I reached her door, I knocked and the door flung open.

"Look at what I got!" She held up two copies of 'Through a Child's Eyes'. The name underneath the title was spelled out delicately in a thin red font.

H. Strongest

"I got one for you because I know how much you just love literature."

"Aw, thank you for this book. I'm totally gonna read it."

"Even if you did, you probably wouldn't even like it. It has a depressing story line, I'm guessing..."

I gave a sheepish smile and grabbed one of the hardcover books from her. "Seriously, who'd you get this for?"

"Armin, who else?"

"I'm guessing you want me to give this to him?"

"Yeah."

Mikasa wasn't going to school Monday through Wednesday because she was touring colleges. She wants to become an actress when she gets older. Although she's only been in our school plays and productions, she's an amazing actress already.

"Okay, I'll give it to him Monday." I smiled at her and left her room.

I was laying on my bed after dinner and I was bored. I didn't have to do any of my weekend homework until tomorrow because today was only Saturday. Procrastination, hell yeah!

After carelessly scrolling through my Twitter to see what was new in my friends' lives, I found myself even more helplessly bored out of my mind. My eyes glanced at the book on my nightstand and I hesitantly reached out to grab it.

"Through a Child's Eyes," I murmured to myself before flipping over to the back to read the summary.

_If there was anything Nathan wanted, it was his parents. But of course, he couldn't have them. At the age of 7, they died in a horrific accident. A car collision, his Uncle had told him. They died in a car accident coming home from a trip to Nathan's Grandmother's house. Seeing that he no longer had anyone whom he could trust, Nathan was left at his Uncle's house. While living there, he meets the two most interesting kids on the planet, but when disaster strikes again, will Nathan be able to handle the emotional trauma?_

Damn, this sounds depressing.

I had nothing to do; I didn't want to play video games or anything along those lines, so I decided to open the book and read a little. What did I have to loose?

~

In an hour or so, tears were threatening to spill over my cheeks and I almost wanted to throw the book across the room. "What the hell!?" I shouted, and Mikasa barged into my room.

"Eren, what's wrong?" She saw my teary eyes and glanced at the book that was now closed and siting on the carpet. "Did you read it?" She asked, surprised I would even bother to open it.

"Yeah. And holy shit, I'm already crying."

Mikasa looked at the book in awe. "Jeez, Eren. How much did you read?"

"The first few chapters.."

" _What?_ And you're already in tears?"

"Well, yeah! It's depressing as hell. Just read it for yourself." I wiped the tears from my eyes and sighed. "Seriously, dude. I don't usually cry over books. Hell, I don't even cry that often."

"Seems like this 'H. Strongest' just has a way with words, then."

"Yeah, I guess so..." I glanced at the book and then at Mikasa. She got the message that I wanted to read it some more, and left the room.

When she finally shut the door, I opened the book back up to where I left off.

An Excerpt from 'Through a Child's Eyes'

_Nathan looked through the window of the black car as they drove from his home. Away from everything he knew and to this his Uncle's house. A woman sat in the front seat and was chatting away to Nathan, but being in the state of shock he was in, he didn't listen to what she was saying._

_He continued to stare out of the window, tears eventually spilling over his cheeks and he let out a quiet sob. It seemed the woman had heard him because she had reached a hand over to the back seat and placed it on his knee._

_“It's gonna be okay,” the woman said to Nathan, but he knew better. She was just saying that to make him feel better. Nevertheless, Nathan continued to cry silently until the darkness called sleep engulfed him._

I checked my phone after reading more depressing chapters to see what time it was. 1:03 AM. It was around 10 when Mikasa gave me the book, and I've been reading it since then...

I spent 3 hours reading a book.

I flipped to the back of the book to see the 'About the Author'.

"Huh?" I let out a quiet sound of confusion escape my lips.

The author had a picture of himself, but it wasn't showing his face. It was turned from the camera, showing the back of his head instead. He was sitting on a swing set. Underneath it, there was a paragraph with information on the author.

_H. Strongest was born on December 25, 1990. He originates from France, but was born in New York. In his free time, H.S. finds himself playing piano or conjuring up ideas for his books by leaving his apartment and finding inspiration. As of present time, Strongest is in California trying to make his writing career take off._

Underneath the small information about him, there was a quote.

_"The only thing we are allowed to do, is believe that we won't regret the choice we made."_

I pondered on it for a while until I actually realized the time. 1:09 AM... I could spend another hour or so browsing Tumblr or Pinterest before going to bed.


	2. A Typical Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi can't seem to find inspiration for his characters in his new book, so he decides to go shopping for every day items instead. While he's waiting for the clock to turn, Hanji texts him about some urgent matters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! This chapter is following around Levi in 3rd person. I hope you all enjoy this chapter!
> 
> Oh, and if you were wondering, Levi's ringtone is This is War by Thirty Seconds to Mars.
> 
> I also sketched out Levi and his motorcycle, so if you wanna see that, there will be a little link in the story at the end.

The man stretched his aching muscles and leaned back in his desk chair. He glanced at the time. 1:11 AM. He'd been sitting at his computer screen for roughly 7 hours. Right after he had eaten dinner, he had sat down at his desk to brainstorm ideas for his new book. He had a few things in mind, but he wouldn't be able to write about such things and publish them in a book where thousands, maybe even _m_ _illions_ would read.

His own personal life stories were not something that he wished to share with others, but he had taken bits and pieces of his own experiences in life to recreate a new character out of his past. And recently, he hadn't been able to conjure anything publishable.

One could say he had Writer's Block.

It was a condition he usually got after publishing a book. Not to mention, a book in which the majority of it was a small portion of his childhood, just re-created so the general populous would be able to actually read it and not cringe in disgust.

There was times when he thought about writing complete fiction stories. In fact, he had a story drafted out; the majority of the characters were already planned out, and he himself, _the author_ , was going to put his own persona into the story as well.

That didn't work out too well, considering that he hadn't even come up with a name for the main character yet. And the main character's friends, who would they be? Would he even have any friends?

Still, it _was_ better than nothing. His editor was going to come any day now, barging into his apartment and will wonder what progress he had gotten on creating a new idea.

“But then I'd present this piece of shit and he'll get pissed off at me for not creating a better plot-line...” he said to himself. “Especially if he brought Hanji along. She'd lecture me as well.”

The man sighed and took another glance at the clock. It was 1:24 AM now. He had enough time to rewrite the entire plot so that his perfectionist side of him could feel accomplished.

* * *

 

It was well after 3 AM and the raven still typed away at his laptop. He was almost done with recreating the plot when his phone started to ring.

_To the right! To the left! We will fight, to the death! To the edge of the ear-_

“Hello?” He sounded terrible – sleep deprived and annoyed. He cleared his throat.

“Ah, Levy. You sound awful, are you doing okay?” the woman spoke. From the excitement in her voice, it was clear the speaker was none other than Hanji Zoe.

“I'm fine. Just a little tired.” He said back, choosing to ignore the nickname she had given him.

“Alright! I'll take your word for it. Anyways, Erwin and I are going to come over later this week, I don't know, Wednesday maybe, and we're gonna see what kind of progress you've made on your new story idea! Don't stay in that writer's block stage of yours for too long, Levy!” she laughed through the speaker, Levi pulling the phone away from his ear so that his eardrum wouldn't shatter. When her fit of giggles came to an end, Levi put the phone back to his ear to listen to her. “Sooo, we'll see you then, alright? And Levi,” she said, being serious. “Try to get some sleep, okay?”

Levi huffed a bit. “I would if I could, Zoe.” At that, Levi hung up the phone and set it on his nightstand, not too far from his desk. He turned back to his computer screen and read what he had to make sure it was efficient enough for his needs.

For the most part, the plot-line was satisfactory to him, but there was a small problem. He had no main character. Or, rather, he didn't have a main character that he could picture in his mind to play to role of his new character.

He didn't have a name, a mental picture, or a personality for the character yet. Hell, he couldn't decide if he wanted this character to be female or male yet.

Levi sighed in frustration before saving the document and shutting off his laptop.

He had to re-stock on his daily items; Levi was running low on food, drinks, and the most important of all, cleaning supplies. He couldn't bare to think of what could happen to him and his apartment if he no longer had his handy-dandy Windex and Tide.

Levi shivered at the thought of living in filth. He had done it before, but that was a story for another day and another time.

He made a small list of things that he needed to get, including hand sanitizers that smelled of 'Warm Vanilla Sugar' and more hand lotion.

By the time Levi had showered, dressed, and toasted the last piece of bread in his cupboard (and added bread to his shopping list), it was about 5 AM. Still a little bit too early to go out and shop.

Levi decided to rest his head on the table, that was very clean, mind you, for a bit, listening to some music. He sang along to a few songs, unable to find any rest on the hard surface. He was tempted to try and sleep on his recently made bed, but it was no use to actually try. "Insomnia's a bitch." Levi muttered, pausing the music when he had received a text.

It was from Hanji, of course.

Levi didn't understand why Erwin was always insisting on buying flowers for his apartment. After all, flowers are just plants that have a small amount of time to be beautiful, and then they die once they are either picked and cut off of their source of life or they wither away without second glance from anyone.

Levi glanced at the time, noting it was almost 5:30 AM, before shutting off his phone. The store closest to him opened at 6:00 AM sharp. It would take about 10 minutes to get there by motorcycle depending on how the traffic wanted to treat him. He got up from his seat at the table and decided to clean for a bit before he left. Levi opened the cupboard under the sink, and low and behold, there was his beautiful cleaning supplies.

Levi grabbed a Windex bottle that was half full and then made his way to the hallway for a rag to clean the windows. He opened the towel cupboard, pulling out a washcloth. He closed the open doors and went to the window in his kitchen. It was the largest window in his apartment and it was also the hardest to clean. Levi had to stand on his tip toes, or on the occasion that he didn't want stretch his arms too much, he had to pull out a stool to help him reach the top of the window.

It was a pain in the ass, yes, but it was worth it.

After Levi cleaned the window to perfection, it was roughly 5:45 AM.

 _Close enough,_ Levi thought before putting away his supplies and retreating to his room for his motorcycle helmet. Hanji had bought it for him for his birthday 2 years back, and he nearly laughed when he saw it for the first time. It had cat ears on the top of it; Hanji insisted that he would look adorable in it. Since she claimed it cost around $500, he put it on for her and that was that. Levi had grown accustom to the helmet, a perfect fit was rare for people of Levi's size these days, and he didn't bother taking off the cat ears either.

He kept the helmet under his arm as he grabbed the necessary things needed to survive outside his apartment - a small backpack for his groceries, hand sanitizer, gloves, his wallet, his keys, and his phone.

Levi locked the door to his apartment once he stepped out, moving to the stairs. He didn't take the elevator because they weren't really his 'thing'. Being crammed into small spaces with germ-carrying strangers wasn't very appealing to Levi. He preferred the openness of the stairs because no one really traveled up and down them as often as he did. It was Levi's way of exercising his legs because he didn't have a treadmill in his small apartment that he could walk on everyday. At the same time every morning, Levi would do push-ups and sit-ups to keep in shape, and on occasion, he went to the gym with Erwin, his editor.

Levi slipped his head into the helmet when he approached his parked motorcycle outside of the apartment building. It was a 2009 Yamaha R6 bike, black and red. It looked brand new compared to all of the other cars sitting around it. Levi kept it in mint condition, cleaning it regularly and waxing it every month. It was shining brilliantly against the rising sun in the sky making Levi cringe at the bright light in his eyes. Being as sleep deprived at Levi was at the moment, the average human would not be able to drive, let alone function properly, without falling asleep. Falling asleep was never an issue for Levi until 6 years ago, when Levi was 19, he was diagnosed with Insomnia and was given a series of pills to take to help him sleep. Since he never got a restful sleep using the pills, Levi cast them out of his life completely.

Levi put the small black gloves on his hands and made sure he had his shopping list before hopping onto the bike. With the small backpack on his back, he rolled up the sleeves of his flannel to his elbow and inserted the key into the ignition, the small motor roaring to life, and he drove away to the nearest store.

 

**You can see a sketch of Levi's motorcycle and his helmet[here](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/46/24/e9/4624e9350a3be16e50d44258271a0f2c.jpg).  
For the real motorcycle image, you can view it [here](https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQyvCk4Vnv6J30zN1Qd0sSv19E4tzx2fZWEVpVzxAtr4mlVLIhf).**


	3. Starbucks & Ice Skating

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Before Mikasa has to leave to tour colleges, she wants to do some last-minute ice skating with Eren and Armin. They decided to meet up at Starbucks, where Eren locks eyes with someone in particular.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait everybody! I hope you enjoy the chapter as much as I did! Seriously, this is so fun to write! The next chapter might be delayed a few because I have a few projects in school that have I to work on. Thanks for the support!

“Ah shit.” Eren swore, frantically erasing the hand he had been drawing. He had successfully drawn the person's figure proportionally but it was _always_ the hands that got him. “Fucking anatomy..” he cursed under his breath. As of right now, it was 10:14 AM on Sunday. Eren, as usual, was procrastinating on his homework. It wasn't like he had a lot, but to be done with the page of calculus would ease his burdens and help him relax.

Eren carefully sketched out the hand again and to his surprise, he actually drew the hand accordingly. He smiled to himself, darkening the pencil line and then holding up the paper to view his masterpiece. Lately, Eren found himself drawing one thing – or one person, to be exact. Eren had woken up quite early, 7 o'clock was early for him on a weekend, and he had finished 'Through a Child's Eyes.' Tears were shed, to say the very least.

But a passage at the end of the book stuck to Eren's mind, unable to shake the thought.

“ _Goodbyes hurt when the story is not yet finished, but the book has been closed.” -Anon_

_It seems as if I have become incredulous due to the fact that so many people have acquired a liking to my novels. I would just like to give a thanks to all of my readers – I couldn't have become so successful without the help and support I've been given over the past 2 years. Many of you have been submitting fan-art of these book characters onto social media and my attention has been brought to these works of art._

_In some cases, my readers have drawn out me – all of your predictions about my height and body build astonish me, really – and I've found it quite amusing to see these works._

_I would like to announce that I have created a Tumblr account, a Twitter account, and a Pinterest account. I usually do not partake in social media, but I honestly would like to view more of my reader's works._

_Tumblr: H_Strongest_

_Twitter: @humanityss_

_Pinterest: H. Strongest_

_You can post any fan-art or comments you want – who knows. I might mention you in my next book._

_That's about it. Once again, I'd like to thank all of my readers for reading. Stay tuned for my next book, soon to come out next Summer._

To put it simply, Eren was drawing fan-art for 'H. Strongest.' He was starting by sketching out the author on paper, but now he was contemplating if he should finish the sketch or if he should move to his drawing tablet.

It was a choice he wasn't able to make because Mikasa barged into his room without knocking. Eren moved to cover the paper he had been drawing on with his forearm. “Dammit, Mikasa! Knock next time, will you?”

“Yeah, yeah,” she brushed off, “Whatever. So I have to be at the airport at 6 if I want to make my flight and I just wanted to do some stuff with you before I left. You and Armin, actually.” That was right. Mikasa was going to be gone for 3 whole days because she was touring colleges.

“Okay, yeah. What are we gonna do?”

* * *

 

Eren found himself standing in front of a Starbucks with Mikasa shortly after their conversation in his bedroom. “When's Armin supposed to get here?” he questioned Mikasa.

“He said he'd be here in a few minutes...” Mikasa replied, eying her phone.

“Okay. Well, I'm getting something to drink. Want anything?”

“I'm good.”

“Suit yourself.” Eren stepped inside the cafe at that, standing behind a rowdy-looking girl, whose pigtail was messily thrown up. When she ordered the drinks, her voice was far too loud.

“I'll take a Grande Cinnamon Dolce Latte and a Grande Oprah Chai Tea Latte, to go, please!!”

“Alright ma'am,” the teen behind the counter said, smiling brilliantly up at her. “Whose name should it be under?”

“Make it under Hanji, that's H-A-N-J-I, but on the Chai Tea Latte, can you write 'Shorty' on it? It's for my friend and he's quite short, so I always joke about his height. When he sees the name written on his cup, his expression will be priceless!”

The teen laughed. “Sure thing, Hanji. One Grande Cinnamon Dolce Latte and one Grande Oprah Chai Tea Latte. Anything else?”

“That'll be it.” She said, paying the amount due and then stepping out of the way so that Eren could order.

“I'll have a Grande Hazelnut Frappuccino, to go, please.” he spoke, seeming as if he had done this dozens of times. The teen behind the counter, Connie, as his name tag read, nodded and then smirked.

“Alright, that will be $2.88. Name?” Connie asked him.

“Eren.” he replied, cringing as the teen wrote 'Aaron' on it instead of 'Eren.'

_Oh well. It's better than having 'Shorty' written on your cup._

* * *

 

As Eren waited patiently for his caffeinated drink to arrive, the woman before him, Hanji, as he recalled her name was, was called up for her drinks. Sure enough, 'Shorty' had been written on one of the cups. Hanji picked up the two drinks and Eren watched as she made her way over to a man with black hair, sitting at one of the tables, typing away at a small laptop. He appeared to be well-built, and the black hair on his head was trimmed in a perfect undercut. Eren couldn't help but stare a little at the man and his narrow eyes, dark bags underneath the sharp gray pupils.

As Eren stared in curiosity, Hanji walked up to the man and set the cup down in front of him. His rapid typing stopped almost immediately as he stared at the name written on the cup.

“Really?” His voice was husky and quiet, laced with annoyance, yet it cut through the sounds of the employees bustling around and the other people talking.

Hanji laughed and the man smirked a bit, huffing through his nose in a form of laughter before taking the drink in one hand and tilting it so the liquid would meet his lips. Eren tilted his head in confusion as he watched the man hold his cup. His fingers were curled around the edges of the lid. He held it in such a way that if someone such as Eren himself were to try and hold in that way as well, the cup's contents would spill all over him.

Eren looked back up to the man's narrow eyes to find that they were staring at him.

Their gaze locked and stayed that way until Eren's name was called, signaling that his drink was ready for him. He felt the man's gaze upon him as he walked over to the counter to retrieve his drink. Eren glanced curiously back at the man to find him watching him intensely, almost like he was studying him. Then, much to Eren's dismay, the man's gaze shifted to the small computer screen and he started to type again.

* * *

 

“Eren!” Armin called as Eren stepped out of the Starbucks.

“Hey Armin,” Eren replied, smiling at the blonde genius. “How have you been?”

“Same as always. I don't think these three days will be the same without Mikasa.” Armin sighed.

“Hey, I'm not gone yet.” she replied.

“Yeah, so what are we gonna do?” Eren asked them, taking a sip of his frappuccino.

“Considering that it's almost winter, Mikasa wanted to go ice skating before she had to go.” Armin said.

“You couldn't of picked something better, like, _I don't know_ , something that doesn't involve me falling flat on my face because it's so _damn_ slippery.” Eren retorted, glaring at Mikasa playfully. It was _only_ November, and yet Mikasa wanted to go _ice skating_.

* * *

 

 _Shit,_ Eren thought as he almost fell on the ice again. “Dammit, Mikasa. We could of hung out at the mall or something.” Eren said to the raven haired girl beside him, perfectly balanced on her skates. Armin was wobbling more than Eren was and he had fallen on his ass twice the amount of times Eren had. And Eren had fell down at least 6 times.

“Do you need any help?” Mikasa turned around on her skates and skated backwards in front of Eren, holding out her hands.

“No, I'm fine. I think I got the hang of it.” Eren distributed out his weight evenly on the skates, and he could now glide across the ice with less of a wobble than before. Armin was a completely different story. The blonde had always been clumsy-footed on just regular ground. Being on a much more slippery surface wasn't helping either. “You should probably help Armin though.”

Mikasa looked over at him, catching the smaller boy right before he fell on his face. Eren watched in amusement as Mikasa tried to teach Armin how to balance on the metal edges of the skates, but it seemed nothing could help him. Eventually, Armin got off of the ice to go put his shoes back on so he could get some hot chocolate from the small vendor in the main lobby of the ice station.

Mikasa grabbed Eren's hands suddenly and started to spin him around. “Mikasa, what are you-”

Eren saw the look on her face – she was smiling, laughing and spinning around with him. He felt like he was going to fall, but Mikasa kept her grip on his hands to prevent him from drifting away from her. Soon enough, Eren was laughing too, they spun around and did figure 8's together. After spinning around, they both finally got off of the ice so they could find Armin. They found him sitting at a table, bundled up in his jacket, and browsing his phone.

* * *

 

It was warmer than Eren thought it would be outside, but considering the three seniors just exited an ice rink, it wasn't much of a surprise. Eren's face and fingers finally defrosted as the three of them made their way to Eren and Mikasa's house. Their local ice station wasn't too far from their house, about a fifteen minute walk.

As Eren unlocked the door, his other two friends chatted behind him, talking about some book they read together. He didn't really care about what they were saying until he heard Armin say something about 'H. Strongest.'

“Apparently he lives in Trost, but I can't be too sure about that. I mean, the picture was posted by his publisher, and in the photo, Strongest isn't facing the camera. His publisher had put in the caption that they were in Trost.” Armin said.

“Really? He's so mysterious. Now I want to know more about him.” Mikasa stated, seeming to admire the novelist. Eren just listened in on their conversation while he opened the door for them.

* * *

 

After a few hours of video games and pointless chats, the clock had made its way to the 5 o'clock mark. It was already time for Mikasa to get ready to go to the airport. Eren and Armin helped her gather up her suitcases and throw them in the trunk of the two sibling’s car. It was a black 2007 Lexus IS 250 that cost Eren and Mikasa the majority of their savings a few years ago, but at least they had a reliable source of transportation. Yes, Eren's father _did_ send them money from.. wherever the fuck he was now, and it always _was_ quite a few thousand each time, so it's not like Eren could say he didn't have a father 

Grisha was never really around, due to his job as a widely-known-doctor, but that didn't bother Eren nor Mikasa. They grew up with Eren's mom until they were 10. His mother died by reasons which Eren didn't want to mention, and so they were forced to grow up with Eren's father, who was never home.

“Oh my God you guys,” Mikasa suddenly said once Eren had parked in front of the airport. Cars surrounded them in every direction. “I'm gonna miss you two, even if it's only for 3 days..”

“Mikasa, it's not gonna be that bad, alright? Just call me if you get lonely.” Eren said, smiling at her.

“Yeah. You have to get in that college, alright? And you will, I have no doubt about it.” Armin reassured.

“Okay, it's just nerve-wracking.” Mikasa stepped out of the car, followed by Eren and Armin, who helped her carry her suitcases inside. She gave Eren an abrupt hug, saying, “I'm gonna miss you. Behave yourself, alright? Don't wreck the car, don't forget to brush your teeth, eat a healthy breakfast every morn-”

“I get it, Kasa.” Eren said, calling her by her nickname. She let go of him and then hugged Armin.

“Make sure Eren behaves while I'm gone okay?”

“Don't I always?” Armin joked.

“True that.” Mikasa said, letting go of Armin. Eren rolled his eyes playfully and then they said their final goodbyes, waving to Mikasa as she walked away.


	4. Boredom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hanji and Levi are at the Starbucks, hoping to get inspiration for his new book. Levi locks eyes with a certain brunette and called it a day. He goes over to Erwin's house to avoid boredom and unexpected events play out while he's at his home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy April Fools Day! Here's a longer chapter for all of you who got pranked today!
> 
> And just a heads up, I am a shipper of both Ereri and Eruri, and I plan on having slight one-sided Eruri in the beginning. If you're not a multi-shipper, then I apologize in advance.
> 
> The majority of the story will be Ereri though.
> 
> Enjoy~

"I don't understand why you dragged me out of my apartment for Starbucks." Levi sighed, typing away on his laptop.

"Wellllll," Hanji dragged, too loud as always. "I figured you could get some inspiration if I brought you out. Now what do you want, short stuff?"

"Same as always." He didn't look up from his laptop screen, proofreading what he wrote multiple times.

Levi couldn't find any mistakes, so he continued to type up the rough outline of his next story. The plot was simple; One hundred years prior to the beginning of the story, giant humanoid creatures called Titans forced humanity to devolve to a medieval level of technology and to retreat into a system of concentric Walls known as Wall Maria, Wall Rose, and Wall Sina. Inside these walls, humanity lived in peace for one hundred years. But in the beginning of the story, a sudden attack by a gigantic sixty-meter Titan and a smaller Titan covered in armor plates causes the outermost wall to be breached, forcing mankind to abandon the land between Walls Maria and Rose, leading to famine and turmoil.

Simple, really.

The story takes place in the point of view of the main character, one in which he hasn't developed yet, and his childhood friend and sister.

Levi looked up to the door, the bell indicating that the door to the Starbucks was opened. A boy with brown locks sticking out in random directions walked in and stepped behind Hanji in the line. Levi stared at him a bit before Hanji interrupted his intense stare by slamming her hand on the table.

"Yo Levi! I ordered your drink, so it's gonna be a little bit before it gets here."

"Yeah, okay..." Levi glanced back at the kid before looking back at the word document he had been typing on.

'He looks about 17, 18 maybe. He wears a pair of black skinny jeans that adorn his legs nicely. His navy blue shirt clings to his golden tan skin, slightly exposing his toned stomach when he moves his muscular biceps.'

Levi stared at what he just wrote.

_That was extremely gay._

He hit backspace multiple times, erasing his words and pretended to be typing something meaningful.

"Hanji, your order's ready!"

"Don't you move Levy! I'll be right back."

Levi made a sound of acknowledgment before she walked away to get their drinks.

'I'm not actually writing anything related to my story right now because I can't think. There's someone staring at me. If I look up now that would be weird. Wait, it's weird thst they-'

Levi sighed and hit backspace. He was typing too fast, as usual, and he messed up his words.

'that they are staring at me in the first place. It's even worse that they WONT STOP STARING. STOP IT. WHOS STARING. STOP IT PLEASE. I DO NOT APPRECIATE-'

_Fuck all rules of grammar_ , Levi thought. _I can type in all caps if I want to_.

Hanji came back with his drink and set it on the table. He stopped slamming his hands on the keyboard and looked at the cup-

'Shorty.'

"Really?" He questioned, shaking his head slightly.

Hanji burst out laughing her contagious laugh, and Levi huffed through his nose in his own form of laughter. He picked up his Chai Tea Latte in his signature way, his fingers curling around the cup's lid.

He felt someone's stare on him again, but this time he actually did look up.

It was the kid. The one he wrote an extremely gay description of.

He stared at the teen's eyes, getting lost in them quite easily. His eyes were blue, but green. More of an aqua-green. It was hard to describe.

Suddenly, those eyes were on Levi's and they stayed like that until the kid's name was called out for his drink.

"Aaron. Your order is ready."

_Aaron? He doesn't look like an 'Aaron.'_ Levi stared at him. The kid was fairly attractive, but somehow his name didn't fit him.

Levi watched as 'Aaron's' face distorted into that of slight disgust. Levi could almost hear what the kid's face was screaming. _'It's not Aaron!'_ He wanted to laugh.

The kid's eyes met his own again, and he just stared. His fingers started to glide across the keyboard, automatically typing up something.

Levi didn't want to look away, but he really wanted to know what his brain had been typing. He glanced down at his screen.

'A shiver crawled down my spine as the young boy stared into my eyes. His eyes; their obscure color was one I couldn't describe in a thousand years. They were beautiful. I could envision his eyes like the ocean waves, unexpected and curious. But that all came to end as soon as it had started. The boy was gone.'

Levi hurriedly looked back up to try and catch his eye again, but it was to no avail. The boy _was_ gone.

* * *

 

Levi was back home, in the safety of his apartment. There was no one to bother him.

At least he was finally able to come up with a plot line of some sort. Levi glanced at the clock. It was almost noon now. He closed his eyes, rubbing his face as he tried to wipe away the stress from going out and being around people had brought him.

One could say Levi was antisocial, or for lack of a better term, an introvert. He didn't mind socializing with people, but when said people were constantly looking over his shoulder to see what he was typing in public, it got on his nerves. Talking to people meant explaining what he was writing, because that's what most people who talked to him were interested in.

Levi couldn't blame them; it was natural to be curious of what others were doing, but sometimes he just wanted to be able to type his stories in peace without people constantly bothering him.

Despite already being out in public, Levi decided he wanted to do something today besides writing his book. He needed more inspiration, anyway. And as much as he hated to admit it, when Levi went outside his apartment, he actually did find inspiration at the coffee shop. That boy 'Aaron' was more than enough inspiration for one day, but if he was going to make him his main character, Levi would have to find someone to take on the role as his sister and his childhood friend.

* * *

 

He sat on his motorcycle, leaning on his foot. Levi was at a stoplight, waiting for the light to turn green so he could go straight and get to his destination. He was heading towards Erwin's house because he was extremely bored out of his mind and Levi hoped he would find more inspiration in Erwin's neighborhood.

He had texted Erwin before hand, letting him know that he would be coming over no matter what the blonde man said in reply, and he'd better have a spotless house like Levi had worked so hard to keep it that way the last time he came over.

Erwin let Levi invite himself over when he wanted to. _Why_ , Levi didn't know, but he always seemed happy whenever Levi came over. Levi wouldn't come if Erwin was bothered by his visits, but he needed company other than cleaning supplies every once in a while. It was good to have a healthy social life, according to Hanji.

Levi pulled up to Erwin's huge-ass house, parked his bike, and took off his helmet. He made his way to the front porch of Erwin's home, where music could be heard from the inside. _What is he doing,_ Levi thought. He knocked on the door twice before he was practically pulled inside the home and into Erwin's large arms.

“Levi!” he chirped, engulfing Levi's small body in his arms.

“Get off of me, you oaf!” Levi declared, but Erwin only picked him off of the ground in a fit of heavy laughter. “Put me down, Erwin!” Levi lost all seriousness in his tone – it wasn't often that he saw Erwin this way. The usual put-together editor he was day in and day out was no where to be found.

“I'm so happy to see you!” He squeezed him harder.

“I can't... breath,” he gasped.

“Oh, right. Sorry.” Erwin set down the raven haired man and smiled at him. “Levi, how are you?”

“Well, I was perfectly fine, but I do now believe that I have a fractured rib. Other than that, life's been treating me well.” His words were laced in sarcasm and his face turned into one of playfulness.

“I wonder how that happened.” Erwin said, smirking at his sarcastic friend.

“I do too.” Levi furrowed his brows and returned his face to his normal stoic expression.

“So, what brings you to my humble abode?” Erwin said, still smiling.

“I was bored,” he deadpanned.

“That's it? You were just.. bored?” Erwin's voice held slight disappointment.

“Not really. I was hoping you and I could-”

“ _Does that make me craaaaazyyy? Does that make me craaaaaaaazyyyyy? Does that make me craaaaaaaaazzzyyyyyyyyyy? Possibly....”_ The song Erwin was playing suddenly got loud and interrupted Levi's question.

“Turn that shit off, Erwin.” Levi cringed at how loud it was. “I'm going to need a hearing aid by the time I leave here.” He said, trying to get his voice above the music.

Erwin walked over to where his stereo laid and turned down the volume, but not shutting if off completely. “That good for you?” He asked, facing Levi once again.

“Yeah...” Levi trailed off as he glanced at the floor and noticed a spec of dirt on one of the white tiles.

“Levi?” Erwin waved a hand in front of his face. “Humanity's Strongest, what are you doing?” Erwin stared at Levi for a few seconds before he pressed his lips together when he found his friend intensely concentrated on the floor. He placed his hand on Levi's shoulder. “Hey. Earth to Levi.”

“What?” Levi snapped his attention back on Erwin's blue eyes. “Oh, um,” he glanced down at the floor. “Sorry, I just..” he stared at the floor for a few more seconds before he shook his head and snapped out of his trance for good. “What were we talking about?”

“You said that you wanted to do something with me?”

“Oh!” Levi held up his finger to signify that he indeed, wanted to do something with him. “Right. I wanted to do something with you, but I don't really know what we can do. Hanji already forced me out of my home and took me to Starbucks,” Levi rolled his eyes when he mentioned her, “and I guess it was a good thing, because I found someone that could be the model for my main character. But I don't want to do anything related to my book right now. Let's do something.”

“What were you thinking?” Erwin questioned.

“I don't know. Just name off things we can do inside the house because I've had enough social interaction for today.”

“Well, we can.. play a board game?”

“They're called board games for a reason, Erwin. They make you bored. Next.”

“Cards?” he suggested.

“Possibly.” Levi thought about it for a second. “Actually, never mind. That's a no too."

“We could call Hanji over and then-”

“That's a definite no.” Levi declined automatically, not even letting Erwin finish his thought.

Erwin laughed. “Movie?”

“What movies do you have that aren't complete shit?” Levi retorted.

“Probably none.” Erwin laughed a bit before continuing. “Well, we could... I don't know. There's nothing to do Levi.”

“C'mon, just name things off we can do.”

“Okay. I thought of something. Don't freak out on me.”

“No promises.”

Erwin sighed. “We could have sex.”

“What?” Levi looked at Erwin like he was crazy.

“It was just a thought.” Erwin held his hands up in caution. “Don't go off on me. We don't have to, I mean, we're not even in a relationship or anything.”

Levi stayed quiet, seeming to think about what he just said. “I..”

“Levi, don't take me seriously. I wasn't really expecting an answer from you or anything.”

“It's just.. I haven't..” Levi rubbed his arm and looked down at the floor.

“You're.. a virgin??” Erwin was shocked.

“No! No. I'm.. No. I've had sex before.” Levi glared at him. Erwin gave him a questioning stare. “High school. I've had a few one night stands before. Just.. I've never had sex with a man.”

“Levi, I was only joking...” Erwin wasn't _actually_ joking, but for the sake of keeping his friend, he would tell him that he wasn't being serious. Levi didn't need to know how Erwin truly felt about him.

“Let's do it.”

“Wh.. What?” Erwin couldn't believe what he just heard.

“Let's fuck.” Levi looked at him with such a serious expression that Erwin felt if he were to question him, he'd come off as an idiot.

“Levi, you're serious about this, aren't you?” It wasn't really a question. They both knew that Levi was dead serious.

“Why wouldn't I be?” he tilted his head as he said it, staring into Erwin's crystal blue eyes.

“I don't know, you're sure about this?”

Levi sighed. He pulled on Erwin's collar to bring him down to his level. “Would I joke about something like this, Erwin?”

“No,” he said, still not sure if Levi actually wanted this or if he was just doing this because he was 'bored.' “I just don't want to force you into anything you don't want.”

“Tch. You're not forcing me into anything. I chose to do this.”

“If it's what you want, then okay.”


	5. Calculus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi feels regret for the activities between him and Erwin, so he leaves before morning comes. Eren, Armin, Jean, and Marco meets 6 new people at school who stole their spot at lunch, and Eren gets to leave school early because his 6th and final period of the day is a free period.
> 
> He meets the man who he stared at in Starbucks at the park and asks for help with Calculus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter is up! Thanks for all of your support guys! Enjoy~

There were times in Levi's life in which he experienced grave amounts of pain emotionally and physically. He's dealt with many things in his 24, almost 25 years of experience that were painful to go through.

He would rate last night a 5 on the physically painful scale and a 7 on the emotionally painful scale.

Levi groaned and rolled over on his side. His rear ached from the amount of stretching it had gone through. He stared at the blonde's face. Erwin was sleeping peacefully while Levi laid there, unable to get shut eye for three reasons.

First, the obvious. He had insomnia.

Secondly, the dull throb of pain in his ass kept him awake.

And third, the thing that kept him up for most of the night. It's what Erwin said while he was getting his ass rammed that he couldn't shake.

"I love you, Levi." He had said those four words with so much emotion behind them. Not only was his anus spread uncomfortably over and over again but his chest ached with regret. Erwin, his editor, loved him, and that was why he was having sex with Levi.

On the other hand, Levi was doing it out of nothing but pure need to satisfy his boredom. And he felt terrible about it.

Levi sat up in the bed next to Erwin. He looked across his friend's body and a pang of regret swam through him. He climbed over him carefully.

“Sorry,” Levi whispered to Erwin, feeling bad about what he had done. He played with Erwin's soft hair until he realized the time.

2:27 in the morning. Wonderful.

Levi stepped out of the room with a heavy heart. He slipped his flannel on and then his socks, followed by his small converse. Levi searched for a pen and paper, and when he found some, wrote a note to Erwin.

 _'Erwin,_  
_Sorry I couldn't stay until you woke up. Couldn't sleep.._  
_Anyways, thanks for having me over. I'll see you Wednesday._  
_-Levi'_

It was a short and simple note, and suddenly, Levi felt like he was in high school again. This is exactly what he'd do when he had a one night stand. He would write a note to them, saying that he couldn't stay because he couldn't sleep and then promised he'd see them later, when in reality, Levi didn't even _acknowledge_ their existence afterward.

But this situation was different. Levi was an author and Erwin was his editor. He _would_ see Erwin on Wednesday and it'd be awkward between them because Levi hadn't stayed until morning. That was mostly why he never acknowledged the people he slept with because it'd be awkward.

 _I fucked up_. Levi thought repetitively in his mind.

He slipped out of the front door and made his way to where his bike was parked. Levi put on the helmet before taking one last glance at the bedroom window. He shook his head, started the engine, and took off without a second glance.

* * *

 

“I _hate_ Mondays.” Eren complained to Armin for the 6th time that day. It was lunch now, there were only two periods left.

“I wouldn't complain, considering that you don't have a 6th period.” Armin stated.

Armin was right. His 6th period was a free period and that was usually when he headed home for the day.

“But I hate Calculus!” Eren whined. Calculus was his 5th period class.

“Eren,” Armin was done hearing him complain.

“Sorry, sorry.” They continued to walk to their spot where he, Armin, Mikasa, Jean, and Marco usually hung out only to find it occupied by 6 other students. Jean and Marco quickly came up to where Armin and Eren stood.

“Who are those dicks?” Jean questioned.

“Dunno, but they stole our spot.” Eren responded.

“Well, let's kick them out!” Jean was about to stride right up there and get his ass kicked when Armin stopped him.

“Wait, Jean. That's not a good idea..”

“Yeah, Armin's right. That blonde guy, I think his name's Reiner; he's captain of the football team. And his tall friend is also a football player.” Marco piped in.

“Well, we can't just sit here and let them take over our spot. We need to get it back.” Jean said, frowning in their direction.

“Hold your horses, Jean.” Eren asked, getting frustrated at his friend. “It's obvious we'll get our asses handed to ourselves on a silver platter if we go over there and start a fight.”

“What about that bald guy?” Jean questioned.

Eren looked over at who he was talking about. There was a short teen with a buzz cut standing next to a girl whose hair was tied back in a pig tail. She was eating a potato.

“He seems to be pretty acquainted with them.. Hold on a second.. It's that guy from Starbucks! He spelled my name wrong!” Eren exclaimed.

“There's two other girls over there.” Armin observed, ignoring Eren's last statement about his name being spelled incorrectly.

“Oh. The tall one's in my bio class. Ymir. And the blonde girl's name is Krista. I'm pretty sure they're dating, but I could be wrong.” Marco said.

“This sucks! I just want to eat in our regular spot.” Eren said. “If only Mikasa was here.. She'd know what to do.”

It was quiet for a few minutes as they continued to glare at them in a group.

“What if we go over there and try to make friends with them?” Marco suggested.

“It's better than standing here like idiots. Come on, guys. Be nice.” Armin said, walking over to where they were seated.

 _What could go wrong?_ Eren thought as he reluctantly followed his blonde friend.

* * *

 

Eren walked home, thinking about the quotient rule. It was a complex equation that Eren was _not_ looking forward to doing when he got home, even if he only had 7 problems to do. He gave an exasperated sigh and changed his path so that he would go to the local park instead of home.

Being outside gave Eren relief from the stress school brought him. He could think more clearly with peace of mind.

When he walked the trail he usually walked when stressed in the park, he noticed someone was sitting on the park bench with their head in their hands. Eren could feel the stress radiating off of the person from where he was standing, which was more than a few feet away. He approached the person, and before he could stop himself, he was talking.

“Are you okay?” Eren was genuinely concerned, but sometimes he wished that he thought things through before saying them. What if they thought he was creepy?

The person looked up at the sound of his voice. _It was him_.

It was the guy who he stared at yesterday.

There was a hint of recognition in the man's eyes. “I'm.. fine.” he hesitated slightly.

“No you're not. It's really obvious that you're not okay.” Eren sat down next to the man on the bench. “You can talk to me if you want.”

“I don't even know you.” The man deadpanned.

“Well, that's the point. I don't know you, so you could just vent to me and I wouldn't know what or who you'd be talking about. But if the problem is that you don't know me, we could change that. I'm Eren.” Eren held his hand out for the man to take.

He started at Eren for a few seconds before taking his hand and giving it a firm shake. “Levi.” It was only then that he realized Levi was wearing biking gloves.

“You have a motorcycle?” He asked, fascinated.

“..Yeah? It's not that big of a deal.”

“Yeah it is! That's so cool! I want a motorcycle one day! I always see them go by and I really want to get one but my over-protective sister Mikasa always says that I'll get in an accident and that it's not safe and-”

Levi was staring at Eren in amusement, a lopsided smile plastered on his face. Eren blushed because _damn_ , Levi was sexy like that.

“Sorry. I was rambling.”

“It's fine. It gives me something to distract myself from unwanted thoughts.” Levi gave him a sad smile before his face returned to a neutral expression. Before Eren could respond, Levi asked him a question. “How do you spell your name?”

“What?”

“How do you spell your name?” Levi repeated.

“No, I heard you. I just wasn't really expecting that question.”

“Well, how do you spell your name because the way you say it is slightly different than the way it's usually pronounced.”

“I spell it E-R-E-N.”

“Unique spelling,” he commented.

“Thanks. So..”

There was an awkward pause before Levi said something.

“Aren't you supposed to be in school right now?” Levi smiled a bit.

“Kind of. I don't have a sixth period, so I can leave since I'm old enough to sign my own get-out-of-school-early forms.”

“You're 18?” Levi tilted his head.

“Yeah. And you?”

“Nice try brat. I'm not giving out my age to you.”

Eren laughed slightly. “At least I tried.”

“You sure did.”

Eren smiled brightly at Levi and he looked away. Eren's smile widened as he saw the light tint of pink on Levi's pale face. He didn't say anything about it, afraid Levi would blow up on him.

“Levi,” Eren said. “Are you good at math?”

“I don't know, brat. Maybe. What are you working on?” Levi turned to face Eren again.

“I'm not a brat!” Eren protested.

“You just contradicted your statement.”

“How?”

“You whined. Therefore, you're a brat.”

Eren sighed. “In Calculus, we're working on the quotient rule.”

“It's been at least 7 years since I was in high school. I don't think I remember that much from it.”

“Wait what?” Eren looked at Levi dumbfounded.

“..What?”

“ _7 years_ since you were last in high school?”

“Yeah. What's the problem?” Levi frowned at Eren.

“Well, I just... _7 years?_ ”

“Brat, yes. _7 motherfucking years_.” Levi started to get annoyed.

“Sorry, it's just so hard to believe that it's been 7 years since you were in high school because I thought you were like... 20.”

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

“Good! It's good! It's just..” Eren scooted closer to Levi to get a better look at his face. “You look so young...”

“Thanks?” Levi scooted away from Eren's face. He was a _little_ too close for comfort. Levi hardly knew the kid and he didn't really appreciate anyone up in his face.

“Sorry. Sorry, I'm just.. I have a really huge urge to draw your face.”

Levi raised a brow.

“Okay, that was worse. I'm an artist so I have a natural attraction to your face because it just seems so draw-able.”

Levi almost smirked in amusement.

“I'm just making things worse, aren't I?”

Levi released a short form of laughter, and looked at Eren. “So, you need help with your math?”

“Oh yeah!” Eren laughed. “Yeah, yeah. I do.” Eren turned to his backpack and got out his math folder. He pulled out his worksheet and showed Levi.

He studied it for a moment before saying anything. “Yep. I remember this. Show me what you know, brat.”

“Again, _not a brat_.” Eren glared playfully before starting to work out the first problem.


	6. Phone Calls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi gives Eren his phone number and later calls Hanji about it. She hands the phone off to Erwin, who seems to get jealous about his new friend. Hanji spam-calls Levi afterwards.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant for this to be uploaded a while ago.. Whoops.
> 
> Enjoy~

"I think I'm getting this!" Eren said, biting the tip of his pencil in concentration.

"Well that's good, considering you're on the last problem."

"So if the-"

"Work it out yourself."

"Okay..." Eren started on the problem and Levi watched his face contort in confusion.

His mind traveled around, thinking about how in the world this kid could just start talking to him- an anti-social stone-faced clean freak, and then become acquainted with him.

"Okay! Look." Eren handed him the worksheet, along with his pencil.

Levi studied his hand writing more than the actual problem. It was sloppy, yet neat in its own way.

"Did I get it right?"

_Okay Levi, stop focusing on the brat's handwriting and actually correct the fucking work._

He studied it for a moment longer. "Levi?"

Levi scratched down a series of numbers next to Eren's work. "You screwed it up in a thousand different ways."

" _Really??_ But I double checked my answers and everything! You're joking, ri-" Eren stopped when he saw 7 numbers written on the paper.

"Is.. Is this your number?" Eren gawked.

"What do you think?" Levi looked away from Eren.

"It is?” Eren smiled.

Levi didn't respond, only continued to look away from the boy, for his face was tinted a light pink.

“I did get the problem correct though, right?”

Levi turned to face him with a blank expression. He closed his eyes and shook his head, the faintest trace of a smile lingering on his face.

"So I did?" Eren asked again as Levi stood up.

“It seems that way.”

Eren smiled as he watched Levi walk away. "W-wait! Levi!"

His smile dropped when he realized that Levi was _actually_ walking away from him. Eren quickly packed his things and ran to Levi's side.

"Is there something else you want?" Levi said, glancing at Eren's face.

"No, no, I just.." he trailed off, wondering if this was really a good idea or not. _It's now or never_ , he thought.

They stood there facing each other until Eren quickly wrapped his arms around the shorter man and engulfed him in a hug. Levi froze. The hug surprised him. It actually felt nice.

_Wait, wait, what if this guy has some serious disease?_

"Oi. Brat, get off."

Eren opened his eyes and let go of Levi. "R-right. Sorry." He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "Well.. I'll see you around, then."

"Yeah. See you around, kid." Levi took one last glance at Eren before walking away. Eren watched him go before heading off in his own direction.

* * *

 

"Wait, _you_ , _the short-tempered, cold, heartless bastard_ gave out _your_ number to a _random stranger?_ " Hanji asked in disbelief.

Erwin spat out his coffee. " _What'd he do?_ "

Hanji shushed him before returning to talk with Levi. "No, I don't think it's stupid. You should make new friends more often." There was a pause as Levi said a few things to her. "What's his name? _Aaron?_ "

Hanji laughed. "Okay, so it's Eren. Do you know his last name?"

Erwin watched as Hanji pulled the phone away from her ear. He could hear the raven ranting and raving at Hanji.

".. _the hell would I know his last name?!._...only talked for a bit....needed help with math....didn't ask him for his last name. That's creepy as hell!"

Erwin laughed. "Can I talk to him?" He asked Hanji.

She shrugged and handed him her phone.

"I can't even begin to comprehend why the fuck you'd think I would-"

"Levi."

Levi got quiet almost immediately. "Oh. Hanji didn't tell me you were there with her," he said, calm.

"Yeah, sorry about that. So I see that you've met someone new."

He was quiet. "Wait. You're not.. _Jealous_ , by any chance?"

Levi was too smart for his own good. "What makes you think that?"

"You're fucking jealous, don't lie to me. He's just a brat, Erwin. Still in high school."

"How did you two meet?"

"We just _did_ , coincidentally."

" _Really?_ "

"You know what, Erwin? I'm sorry that I played with your feelings but I don't like you like that and-"

"What are you talking about?"

"When we.. You know. Did.. _It_. You said you loved me, but the feeling's not mutual."

"I expected you'd say something like that." Levi didn't reply. "That's okay, though. I didn't think you loved me, but hey. That's alright. As long as you're happy, I'm happy."

"How are you so understanding?"

"When you truly love someone, you know that if they're happy, you'll be happy."

"No, no. I asked the wrong question. _Why_ are you so understanding?"

"It's because I love you."

On the other line, Levi furrowed his brows. He couldn't quite wrap his mind around the fact that Erwin would be happy if he was happy. It doesn't make any sense, he thought to himself.

"That's barely an answer to my question."

Erwin laughed. "I'm sure you'll be using that answer for someone soon."

Levi scoffed. "You're just an idiot in love," and hung up when he heard Erwin's laughter.

* * *

 

Levi was typing non stop on his laptop, actually being able to write more than a few paragraphs for his first draft. He had to make sure it was perfect before Wednesday came along.

He jumped when his phone rang. " _To the right, to the left!_ _We will fight, to the-_ "

He angrily picked it up and sighed in frustration. "Hanji, you'd better make it quick because I'm actually writing something."

"Oh, sorry. Should I call later?"

"Yes. Yes you should."

"Sorry~" she sang, laughing.

Levi hung up and placed his phone down. _Okay, now where was I.._

His phone rang again. It was Hanji.

"Really?"

"It's later!!"

"Oh my _fuck_ Hanji."

"Sorry," she laughed. "I'll leave you alone so you can get some work done."

"You'd better," and he hung up.

He wasn't able to place his phone down before it started to ring again.

"Oh. My. God." Levi didn't bother looking at the caller ID before answering the phone. “Hanji, I swear to fuck. I actually have the inspiration to write, and if you don't stop calling me, I'm going to drive to your house and personally-”

Levi stopped talking when he heard laughter coming from the other end of the phone. “Sorry, sorry. Should I call another time Levi?”

Levi wanted to shoot himself for his arrogance in assuming that the person on the other line would be Hanji. “No, sorry. I'm just dealing with my annoying friend who keeps calling me for no good reason other than to bother me constantly.”

“Is it about something you're writing?”

“Yeah.” Levi stood from his desk chair and stretched his back.

“Can I ask what it's about?”

“Go ahead.”

“What's it about?”

“ _None of you_ _r_ _damn business_ ,” he replied, walking to his kitchen to get something to eat.

“Aww, but now I _really_ want to know what it's about!”

“It's just some stupid.. _poem_ Hanji wanted me to write so she could show her students what a good poem was,” he lied through his teeth.

“Oh, so Hanji's a teacher?”

“Precisely.”

“Cool! And you're like a poet or something?”

 _Whatever you want to think, kid._ “Yeah.”

Eren rambled on about how poetry was interesting but he never really took much interest it the topic. To be honest, Levi didn't either, but when Eren asked for a sample of his work, he had to act quickly.

“Yeah, this one's called The Reluctant Heroes. I never got around to doing anything with it, so I guess I could read it to you,” Levi said, pulling out a very, _very_ old sheet of paper.

“Sounds great.”

Levi cleared his throat and read the song lyrics off the page that his friend had written such a long time ago.

“It was like a nightmare.  
It's painful for me,  
Because nobody wants to die too fast.  
Remember the day of grief,  
Now it's strange for me.  
I could see your face,  
I could hear your voice.

“Remember the day we met,  
It's painful for me,  
Because nobody wants to die too fast.  
Remember a day we dreamt,  
It's painful for me.  
I can see your face,  
I can hear your voice.

“Song for the Reluctant Heroes,  
Who give me their strength,  
Our life is so short.  
Sing out for the reluctant heroes,  
I wanna be brave like you.  
From my heart...”

“Are you sure you're not more of a song writer?”

Levi swallowed as he glanced over the sheet music in his hand. “I'm sure.”

**The Reluctant Heroes**

**Written by: Farlan Church**

**Composed by: Isabel Magnolia**

“Well, either way, I think it's really good! Seriously!”

“I'm glad you think so, Eren.”


	7. Lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren finds Levi at the park bench, but this time he's writing his book. Levi reluctantly lets Eren read some of it. Eren mentions something about how he hates reading, but found an author that he enjoyed their latest book.
> 
> Levi realizes the mistake he's made and flees the scene.

Boredom. It was the only thing that Eren got out of that Calculus session. The Quotient rule was horrifyingly boring, and so Eren yet _again_ didn't head straight home, but rather to the park in hopes of finding Levi. When he arrived, he found Levi sitting on the same bench, but this time he had his laptop on his lap.

Levi didn't seem to notice Eren approaching. Eren sat down next to him, causing the focused man next to him to flinch slightly and glance at him. He relaxed once he realized it was only Eren and gave him a small smile before returning back to typing.

There was an awkward silence. “So.. What are you typing?”

Levi cleared his throat. “Words.”

“Yeah, okay. What are the words about?”

Levi's hands halted their movement. “Just.. It's just a thing I'm writing. It's stupid...” He moved the cursor to the red x in the top right, but Eren grabbed his hand to prevent him from exiting the document.

“Don't erase it! I want to know what it's about!”

Levi jerked his hand away from Eren's and wiped it on his pant leg. “No you don't.”

“I really do! Please?”

A moment of silence. Levi cleared his throat once more.

“Fine... _Brat._ ” Levi angled the laptop in such a way that he would be able to read it clearly. He didn't want fingerprints all over his recently-cleaned laptop.

_'And just like that, everything changed. At that terrible moment, in our hearts, we knew, home was a pin. Humanity: cattle.'_

Eren glanced at Levi. _This already sounds good.._

He scanned the page, reading the well-written material. Eren didn't really enjoy reading, but this was different. The plot was _actually_ interesting. These.. 'Titans,' as the characters called them, seemed intriguing. Eren read until where the first page was cut off by the screen.

“Levi, this.. This is probably one of the best things I've read.”

“It's okay, Eren. I know it's bad. You don't have to lie.” Levi glanced the page over before hitting the save button and exiting out of the page.

“I'm not lying. Levi, this is amazing. I usually can never find something that's interesting to read.” Levi gave him a skeptical look. “Seriously! That's why I don't like to read.”

Levi felt a wave of relief wash over him. If this brat didn't read often, then the chances of him finding and reading his books were extremely slim. “You don't like to read?”

“No, I've only read 1 book in the past 3 months that wasn't required for school, but I think I'm going to read more of their books because their latest book really got to me.”

“Do you remember the author's name?”

“Yeah. They go by an alias, though.”

_Fuck._

“Oh really?”

“Yeah. Their name's-”

_Please don't let it be 'H. Strongest.' Please. Please._

“H. Strongest.”

“Shiii..ounds cool. Never heard of them.” Eren gave him a strange look. Levi was getting nervous. He's never _ever_ met someone who read his book and mentioned it before. “Yeah. Oh, would you look at the time!” His social anxiety was acting up.

This gave Levi enough time to stuff his laptop away in his backpack and to stand up as Eren checked his phone. “It's only 4..”

“I have something to do, so.. I'll talk to you later, Eren.”

“Oh, bye.” Eren watched him walk away. He seemed to be in a rush.

 _Probably has a date or something,_ Eren thought as he stood up from the bench and walked toward his home.

* * *

 

 _I'm such an idiot. This is why you don't let anyone read your shit, Levi. Don't let people read your stories so they can't recognize it. Especially when you're going to see them again and_ especially _when you're using a fucking alias, Levi!_

He ranted to himself while on his bike, sitting at a stoplight. It turned green and Levi lifted his foot from the ground.

Levi felt his phone buzz in his pocket.

 _Calm down and focus on the road,_ he thought. _Calm yourself._

* * *

 

Levi pulled up to his small apartment building, not bothering to wave at the strawberry-blonde woman behind the counter like he usually did. He needed to get to his apartment as soon as possible so he could sit down, relax and watch the moon from his balcony until 3am.

He decided against using the stairs, he wanted some time to think about his horrendous fuck-up and climbing the stairs isn't exactly ideal to having peace at mind. He pressed the button of the elevator and waited for it to come down to the lobby. Sacrificing a minute or so of his time in an elevator couldn't be so bad, right? The doors opened, revealing no one else in the small box of space. He stepped in, pressing the 4 button and the doors shut. As the elevator went up to his floor, his heart slowed to its regular pace.

That is, until the doors opened.

There, standing in the corridor, waiting for the elevator, was none other than Erwin Smith. His fucking editor. “Oh, Levi. How are you today?”

“Fine,” he said, stepping out of the elevator. Levi was not in the mood for talking to him, or _anyone,_ for that matter.

“That's good,” Erwin replied. Instead of getting into the elevator like Levi hoped he would, he followed Levi to where his room was.

“Is there any particular reason as to why you're following me?” Levi said, approaching his door.

“I wanted to apologize to you in person for yesterday. It seems that I got a little jealous.”

“Tch.” Levi unlocked his door. “Is there anything else you need?” he asked, his hand resting on the doorknob.

“No, but I am sorry, Levi.”

Levi glanced at his face. Erwin was smiling at him with such kindness and sincerity and Levi wanted so much to feel close to him again. “It's fine.”

“I'll see you tomorrow to see how far you've gotten on your draft,” he said.

“Yeah...” Levi stared into his eyes, “I'll see you tomorrow.”

Erwin nodded his head once and walked away. Levi opened the door to his apartment and slipped in. Shutting the door behind him, Levi sighed. He placed his backpack on the table near the door and plopped himself on the couch, taking out his phone in the process.

He had 3 new texts. 1 from Hanji and 2 from Eren. He opened Hanji's message and replied. 

 _That's true,_ Levi thought. _But.. But what if..._

Hanji, despite being an annoying publisher, was good at giving advice and was there for Levi when he needed her most. Levi was lucky that her bubbly personality was not affected by his constant insults. If she wasn't so positive, he wouldn't have her.

Levi opened Eren's text message. He glanced at the time it was sent. 4:42.


	8. Problem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren gets a phone call from Mikasa before he gets to eat his ramen. Things aren't looking too well for Eren, especially when he wakes up late the next morning only to discover his only method of transportation has been vandalized.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a bit longer than the rest, I think. I had fun writing it! Also, I know nothing about motorcycle helmets, but I'm pretty sure they have a radio thing where they can talk to each other in the helmets, because how else are you supposed to talk to the person you're riding with? Scream on the top of your lungs to try and make your voice leave your helmet and then into theirs? Not to mention the engine...
> 
> Yep. If you can provide any information about motorcycle helmets, please do tell me so I can make this story more realistic! Thank you and enjoy!

It was just about 7pm when Eren received a phone call from Mikasa. He was in the middle of brewing ramen. His ring-tone wasn't anything special, but it was some rather calming chill-step. "Hello," Eren said, answering the phone.

"Hey Eren. I'm sorry that I haven't called you in a while." Mikasa's voice echoed out of the phone's speakers.

"No, it's totally okay Mikasa. You should have fun while you're there."

"I guess so. So how's school been?"

"It's been.." Eren recalled the new friends that he had made after they stole his group's spot. Two jocks, a couple, and two best friends who _need to hook up already because it was painfully obvious how attracted they_ _are_ _to each other._ ".. _Okay_ , I guess."

" _You guess?_ "

"Yeah. I met some new people, but that's not the problem. I've been having trouble with Calculus lately. I don't even know why I took the damn class." The recommended amount of years to take math at his school was 4 years, but only 3 years were required for graduation. Taking Calculus only prohibited Eren from taking the Painting 2 elective that he _really_ wanted to get into.

"Did you get Armin to help you?" Eren could tell by the tone in her voice that she was concerned about his school work, as per usual.

"Yeah, today I did."

There was a silence on the other end before Mikasa responded. " _Let me guess_ , you didn't do your homework on Monday because you couldn't understand it."

"No. I did it. I just got help from someone else."

"Oh? _Who?_ " Mikasa sounded genuinely curious.

"This guy I met. His name's Levi." Eren felt like mentioning Levi to Mikasa wasn't too good of an idea. He could tell from her lack of talking that she wasn't very impressed with him.

"I can already tell he's going to be a bad influence on you. How'd you two meet?" The tone in her voice was like venom and Eren snapped.

" _You know what, Mikasa?_ You don't need to protect me every single hour of my life! _I'm 18, for Pete's sake._ " Mikasa didn't say anything. "I'm sure there's things that _you_ haven't told _me_ so why the hell do I need to tell you about _every little thing_ that goes on in _my_ life?"

"You're right," Mikasa said after a while. "I'm sorry."

Eren wanted to slam the phone down on the table and punch himself in the face. He yelled at his sister – the only family he had left. "No, I'm the one who should be apologizing."

"It's okay Eren. I know I'm protective and I guess..” Her voice got quieter on the other line. “I'm just afraid of losing my family again."

Eren sighed into the phone. " _I am too._ "

"I love you."

"I love you too." Eren and Mikasa exchanged goodbyes and Eren hung up on the call. He placed his phone down on the kitchen table and cringed.

_I need to learn to control my anger._

Eren ate his ramen and went to bed shortly after.

* * *

 

“ _You're kidding me, right?_ ” Eren breathed, taking in the sight before him.

Someone had decided to smash the windows in on his car and dent the front in as well. The glass was everywhere. His hand balled up in a fist. Eren lived 30 minutes away from his high school and it was already 7:45 and school started at 8, so this was not good. Not good at all. He _needed_ to get to school today. _If Mikasa finds out I skipped because of something like this, she'll have no mercy and claim I should have gotten up earlier._

Eren scanned his contacts. He couldn't call up someone he just met on Monday and ask them for a ride. It would be too awkward to ask, and even if they happened to say yes, Eren was sure he'd die of the awkwardness before he would arrive at school. Besides, he doesn't even know where they live. They were probably at school already.

“ _Shit_... What do I do?”

* * *

 

Wednesday couldn't come any sooner for Levi. He didn't get all the work that he wanted to get done for his first draft. Even though he sat out on his balcony from 8pm to 3am typing until the word counter had reached 23,582, it _still_ wasn't enough. And knowing Erwin, he would expect more out of him.

Levi sighed in frustration. He was tired, _so very tired_ , and he got no sleep whatsoever last night. It's not like he ever did, anyway. Levi's phone rang his loud ring-tone, and _why the fuck is this my ring-tone_ _still_ _,_ and _who the fuck is calling me?_

Levi answered it and made some sort of noise that could be classified as any assortment of animal grunts.

“Levi?” The brat's voice rang through his ears and he had to pull the phone away from his sound-sensitive ears for a moment before putting Eren on speakerphone.

Levi felt like slamming his head against the wall to try and wake himself up. “Hmm?”

“Sorry, did I wake you up?”

“No.. I've been awake since.. I don't know, 5am-”

“Oh, good-”

“-last Thursday.” Eren was silent. _Great_ , Levi thought. _I've made him think that I'm a freak_.

“Having trouble sleeping?” Eren asked, concerned.

“All my life. Anyway,” Levi resisted the urge to yawn. “What do you want?”

“Well, um..” Eren paused a second. “My.. My car got broken into, and you're the only other person I know that has a ride.”

“I'm the _only_ other person?”

“Yeah. My friend Armin gets a ride from his Grandpa everyday, and I refuse to ride in a car with..” Eren shivered as he said the name. “ _Jean_.”

“Don't you walk home everyday?”

“I have been since Monday, but I'm running a little late today. If I walk, I don't think I'll make it in time.”

Levi considered it. “You don't have _anyone_ else?”

“I.. No.”

"Do you have a helmet?"

"I have a bicycle he-"

"No, do you have a helmet that completely covers your head?"

Eren sighed. "No."

"I think I have my old one somewhere in my closet. I don't know if it will fit you though."

"It's better than nothing."

"Alright. Where do you live?"

"84826 Maria Court in Shiganshina." Levi wrote down the address on a post-it-note. He'd need to get directions to Eren's house.

"That's not too far from Trost. I'll be there in 10 minutes at most."

"Thank you so much Levi!"

"Yeah, yeah." Levi hung up and opened Google Maps. He typed in the address and tapped 'Get Directions.' Levi opened the closet door to retrieve his old helmet. It was a plain black helmet that was a little too big for his head, but it worked its job when he used it. Levi made sure the speaker and the mic worked in Eren's helmet. They did, _miraculously_ , and he connected the radio in the two helmets together so they could talk to each other through the microphones instead of having to scream to penetrate the helmet's sound-proof casing.

While Levi usually preferred listening to music when he drove, it seemed he didn't have a choice but to turn it off because he didn't know where Eren's high school was. He would have to give him directions.

Levi grabbed his backpack before heading off. As he climbed down the stairs, Levi stuffed the helmet into it. It surprisingly fit, despite the bag being smaller than the average backpack. He started his motorcycle and left the parking lot, following Siri's directions to the brat's home.

Levi pulled up to Eren's house where he found the boy sitting next to a black car that had been beaten up badly. Levi leaned on his foot and tossed the bag at Eren. "Helmet's in there," he said over the roar of the engine.

Eren caught the bag and opened it, gleaming when he pulled out the helmet. He took a second to examine it thoroughly. " _This is so cool!_ Thank you _so_ much Levi. You're a life-saver! I could kiss you right now, that's how happy I am."

"Don't push it. There's a switch on the right side of your helmet. Turn it on." Eren switched the small object and put on the old helmet. " _Can you hear me?_ "

" _WHOA,_ this is _so cool!_ " Eren screamed into the mic, Levi's eardrums practically exploding.

"Please don't scream."

"Sorry." Eren gave him the bag back and slung his own on his back. “So, cat ears, huh?”

“Shut up. Just get on and hold tight. Where's your school?"

Eren laughed and sat behind him. "I don't know if you know where this is, but it's Sina High."

Levi raised his eyebrow as he pulled away from the curb, Eren lurching forward onto him. On instinct, he grabbed the smaller man around the stomach. Eren could feel Levi's toned body through his clothes and blushed. He almost missed what Levi said. “Rich kid's school?”

“Yeah, I didn't really want to go to Sina, but it's what my mom would've wanted.” Levi didn't question the past tense usage when Eren mentioned his mother and instead asked if Eren could direct him. They pulled up to the first stoplight, waiting for the light to turn green. “At the next stoplight, turn right.”

Levi made a small sound of acknowledgment that was easily picked up from his mic. They moved again and Eren clung tighter to Levi's body. He watched the buildings pass by as Levi weaved through the cars. The wind was blowing around his body, sending a rush of adrenaline through his veins. He loved this feeling he got from riding a motorcycle with Levi brought him.

“Now what?” Levi questioned. They had turned right without Eren noticing.

“Take another right and then go straight until you reach Titan Avenue, then turn left. My school will be right around the corner.”

“Okay.” Levi made another right when the turn approached and Eren wondered for a moment what time it was. Time seemed to be going by faster than he expected. Maybe it was just because Levi didn't have to sit through the morning traffic like he usually did when he drove his car.

Eren noticed the street sign with the all-too-familiar words printed out in bold. _'Titan Avenue.'_

Levi turned down this street after waiting for another car to turn into the school. Low and behold, Sina High appeared, towering over every other building in the area.

“Damn,” Levi commented as he pulled behind the car he let in front of him. He pulled up to the front of the school and set his foot down on the ground, waiting for Eren to get off of the bike. He did, disappointed that they arrived so soon. He wanted to ride around with Levi all day.

“Thanks for the ride,” Eren said after he took off the helmet and switched the radio off.

“Anytime kid,” Levi managed to speak loud enough for Eren to hear through his helmet. He put the spare helmet into his bag and took one final glance at Eren before he drove away and out of the parking lot.

Eren watched him leave, smiling to himself. Apparently, he wasn't the only one watching. Multiple girls were staring at the motorcyclist as he left.

“Who's he?” Eren heard one girl ask.

“I don't know, but did you see his legs?” Eren laughed at that one.

“Yeah. They were so toned and looked absolutely _amazing_ in his jeans. I bet you his name is something magnificent like-”

“Like Dylan!”

“Yeah, or Nathan, or something like-”

“ _Levi_ ,” Eren said, interrupting their conversation.

“Yeah! Oh my god, _yes_. That would be _so_ hot.” Eren smiled and shook his head at their conversation as he walked into his school. Needless to say, Eren was glad he had met Levi.


	9. Wednesday with Levi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi, Hanji, and Erwin discuss Levi's next book and a few things for the plot development. When they leave, Levi decides to browse his Tumblr feed for fan-arts on his book.

“This is.. interesting. Very, _very_ interesting.” Erwin said, continuing to read the words that were Levi's very own. Words that had come from within his brain that he had no clue were even there. “Are these characters based on real life people?”

“Yeah. The main character is supposed to resemble that brat I met a few days ago. And then he mentioned a few other names and so that's where the other two came from.” Levi scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, slightly embarrassed to admit the kid had made an impression on him so quickly.

Erwin finished the last paragraph as Hanji observed them, sipping on the coffee that she forced Levi to keep in his cupboards just for her. Levi was more of the tea kind of guy. “So Levi, tell me. Is this Eren a keeper?”

“Hanji..” Levi said, giving her a warning glare. Hanji ignored it.

“Or do you prefer the tall, strong, and dominant type?”

Levi turned his head to look at Erwin, who was now staring at the computer screen in attempt to avoid Levi's harsh glare. “You told her, _didn't you?_ ”

“Well, she is our friend-”

“Yes, I'm well aware she's our friend, but that doesn't give you the right to tell her about the things we do in private.”

“ _Do?_ ” Erwin questioned, smirking suggestively at him.

“ _Did._ Whatever.” The room fell into silence as the tension between the two grew until Hanji couldn't bare it any longer.

“Let's just get to editing the story, m'kay? M'kay.” Hanji stood and made herself another cup of coffee.

“Right. Sorry,” Erwin said, giving the shorter male an apologetic look.

“I overreacted. Sorry,” Levi apologized sheepishly.

“Okay! Erwin, got any suggestions for his story?” Hanji brewed the coffee and took a large gulp of the steaming liquid before sitting back down.

“Yes, I do have a few, although this is already quite impressive. We can split what you've written so far into about.. 4 chapters, I think. Do you have an idea as to where you want them to end?”

Levi paused and thought about it for a second. “After his mother dies from the Smiling Titan. That should be the end of chapter 1. And then for chapter 2, when he first joins the military and claims that he'll kill all of the titans."

“What about chapter 3?”

“I don't really know how to split those two sections up..”

“..How about when he finally masters the.. what did you call it?” Hanji asked, setting her now empty mug on the kitchen table.

“3D Maneuver Gear, or ODM gear.” There was a pause.

“You _really_ thought about this, didn't you?” Erwin questioned.

“What can I say? I have a lot of free time,” Levi deadpanned.

Hanji laughed and said, “Hey, pass the laptop.” Erwin handed her Levi's laptop with care, knowing how much Levi adored the thing. Although he's had it for at least 4 years, Levi made it look like it was brand new. Not a scratch was present on the screen or the polished metal. “Okay, so what do you plan on doing for this book? Got some sort of plot-line for it?”

“Yeah. In the next chapter, I plan on killing the main chara-” Levi was cut off before he could finish his thoughts.

“ _What?_ You're joking, right? Do you know how many people will hate you???” Hanji practically screamed at the top of her lungs.

“Who will become the main character then?” Erwin asked, intrigued about this idea. He had already grown attached to the main character even though this was a first draft and a rough outline of the real thing.

“The main character.” Erwin and Hanji looked at him in confusion. “If you hadn't interrupted, you'd know why. Anyways, I was planning on making him into a titan himself. He can turn into a titan, but not when he just wants to. He has to have an actual goal in mind for it to happen.”

There was another pause before Erwin spoke. “You _really_ thought about this.”

Hanji stared at him, wide-eyed. “Levi..” She started, pushing her glasses on her nose. “ _Can I be in your story?? Please???_ ”

“Don't worry. I have the ideal characters for you two already in my story. I figured I might as well add my two.. 'friends' in the story if I was going to add myself.”

“And here I thought this was going to be a story that didn't involve you at all,” Erwin smiled, shaking his head.

“Hey! All the books with me in them are New York Times bestsellers,” Levi defended. “It's not my fault I had a shitty childhood!”

“I know. I didn't expect any less from you by adding yourself into the book.” Erwin teased.

“Whatever.” Levi sighed, deciding to fight with him about it no longer. It was true. He did, in fact, use his books to vent about his early life as a kid.

“If the key to the basement is extremely important, you should give it more emphasis.” Hanji said.

“How so?”

“Well, here you say, 'my dad pulled out the key from within his shirt and I observed it fully, taking in every curve and scratch as it shimmered in sunlight,' when you should give the key more attention.”

“I agree. Since the key is obviously a vital part of the plot because his basement is, for whatever reason, locked and withholding secrets, you should rewrite that part.” Erwin commented.

“Okay..” Levi took the laptop from Hanji's hands and placed it on his lap, deleting the section and completely rewriting it. “How does this sound?” Levi cleared his throat. “My father held up the golden key, light reflecting off of the metal in the sunlight that shone through the doorway. The key hung there and I took in every scratch and curve there was to be seen in the shimmering light. He held it in such delicacy in his hand, as if it would break in a moment's notice.” Levi glanced back up at the two.

“Better.”

* * *

 

“See you later Levy!! Don't spend _too_ much time with Erwin!” She winked as Levi slammed the door on her.

“That woman,” he sighed, leaning against the door. Erwin laughed. “You didn't bring flowers this time,” Levi commented, walking past the tall man that was standing in his kitchen. Levi grabbed Hanji's mug that she supposedly 'cleaned' and observed it. “Tch.”

“You don't like flowers, so I figured I would stop bringing them.” Levi raised his brow at Erwin's response.

“ _Now_ you listen?”

Erwin smiled. “What did you say about them again? They would just end up dying?”

“Yes. I find flowers utterly useless when inside vases. They just wither up and die once removed from their source of life.” Levi said, shutting down his laptop.

“But they're beautiful for as long as they last, wouldn't you agree?” Erwin said, watching the smaller male close his laptop and walk back to his kitchen sink. Levi scrubbed vigorously at the mug until it was sparkling.

“Sure,” Levi agreed and he shut off the sink, setting the mug on a drying mat. He wiped his hands on a towel as he turned to face Erwin. “But they're still useless plants that cause a huge mess when they die.”

Erwin laughed at Levi's constant need for things to be clean. “You can always throw away the flowers before they wither and drop pedals, you know.”

“I just don't see the point in having dying plants in your home.” Levi folded the towel and placed it on the counter.

“I see.”

“So why exactly did you stay longer than Hanji?”

“I just wanted to spend a little more time with you, that's all.” Levi raised an eyebrow. “Seriously. That's why.”

“ _Right._ ” Levi rolled his eyes and pulled out his phone. “So are you just gonna-” Levi stopped talking the moment he noticed all of the fan-arts under the tag 'hstrongest.' There were multiple drawings of his characters, but one in particular caught his eye.

There stood the three versions of himself from his four different books - he had written a sequel to one of his books - facing away from each other. A blonde boy with green eyes who never smiled. A black haired boy with blue eyes holding a knife. A brunette teen with blue-grey eyes who was wearing a black hoodie with the words, 'What the hell' in white on the front.

Levi still had that hoodie.

“Levi?”

“Mmm?”

“What are you looking at?”

“Fan-art.”

“Ah, I see. I have to get going, considering it's almost 5. Talk to you later.”

“Yeah.. Bye, Erwin.”

“Goodbye, have a nice afternoon.”

“Same goes to you.” Levi replied, not bothering to look up from the picture of his characters standing together. Curiosity overcame Levi and he couldn't help himself from clicking on the artist's profile.

Levi nearly fell over in shock. He reread the name to be sure of it.

_JaegerRage_

Levi glanced at the profile picture and saw Eren's face. The brat was winking at the camera, smiling with his tongue out slightly, and pointing his left index finger at his cheek. And _hot damn,_ JaegerRage, AKA Eren _fucking_ Jaeger, was one hell of an artist.

Levi scrolled down the page and he observed Eren's artwork. He was tempted to heart it, but that would be suspicious.

_At this point, I honestly don't give two shits.. Fuck it._

Levi followed Eren. He was following 1 person while he had hundreds of thousands following him already. And he'd only posted 3 things. Eren now had 2,403 followers, Levi being one of them.

Levi continued to scroll down the page, noticing how much he had posted in the past day. He observed the kid's drawing style. It was sketchy but yet so smooth. Levi scrolled past the picture of a hand that Eren had somehow managed to draw perfectly and his mouth fell agape. In the next drawing was Levi himself sitting on a bench with a neutral expression. His head was turned to the side and looking at someone who Levi recognized as Eren. Levi read the caption.

_'Probably one of the most beautiful people I've met.'_

Levi almost smiled.


	10. The Brat Trio

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi gets stuck picking up Mikasa at the airport and he meets Armin when he drops off Mikasa. They talk a bit. Relationships are developed.
> 
> Happy face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What I don't understand in most fanfictions is why Mikasa hates Levi so much. Honestly, I don't get it. Yes, I understand that she has some resentment toward him because of what he did to Eren, but she has to understand that Levi did it to protect him, right?
> 
> I don't know. So Mikasa and Levi's 'friendship' is bittersweet, I guess.

“Oh my _CHEESE BALLS_ , Armin.”

“What?” Armin jumped when Eren had a random outburst while they were sitting in his living room, Mario Kart put aside to get refreshments.

“Dude, dude, dude.. _Dude._ ”

“ _What is it??_ ” Armin was usually patient with his green-eyed friend, but this was just ridiculous.

“ _LOOK!!!_ ”

Armin took Eren's phone from his hand to find that it was on his emails. Eren had it opened to a Tumblr email. Armin read it and his mouth fell open as he continued to scan down the text. “Strongest is following _you_?”

“ _Yes!!_ ” Eren seemed too happy for words. Although, he thought anyone would if they were suddenly being followed by a famous author. Armin handed Eren's phone back and Eren clicked the link to Strongest's account. He'd been on it many times before, but he just wanted to be sure of it.

And there it was. Strongest was following 1 person, and that person happened to be him. He squealed.

* * *

 

Eren and Armin would have continued to play Mario Kart if it wasn't for the constant emails Eren's phone was receiving. They were all from Tumblr, notifying him about a new follower he had. Even after they had put his phone on silent, his phone vibrated quite a bit during their gaming session. One could say it was annoying.

“When's Mikasa coming back again,” Armin asked, shutting off the Wii.

“Her flight comes in at 8, so..” Eren yawned, glancing at the time. 5:32pm.

“Shouldn't we get going soon to pick her up?” Armin turned to face Eren.

“Yeah.. Wait a second..” Eren's face paled and he looked at Armin. “The car is demolished! How are we supposed to get her?”

Armin stared at Eren. “You didn't consider this before hand?”

“No! No, I didn't at all. _Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit_.” Eren put his face in his hands.

“Language.”

“Sorry. But what do we do??"

* * *

 

Eren couldn't be anymore thankful for Levi at this moment in time. He was on the verge of tears while on the phone with him, practically begging the older man to pick Mikasa up from the airport because she was expecting a ride home from them. Levi had asked why she couldn't just take a Taxi and Eren had burst right then and there. Mikasa very well could take a Taxi, but Eren claimed that she probably wouldn't have any cash on her.

Levi caved.

Eren texted Mikasa right away.

Eren honestly felt like she would get mad at him for mentioning Levi again, but she didn't respond so he continued.

Eren could feel like he was going to get lectured when she got home.

* * *

 

Levi sighed and cracked his fingers. He stared at the gate. Somehow he had ended up at the airport at 8 o'clock at night picking up some brat's sister. Mikasa, her name was. Eren had given him a description of what she looked like. She had short black hair with ' _a bang coming down to half of her face_ ,' according to Eren. Mikasa supposedly wore a red scarf and she was Eren's height.

His phone buzzed in his pocket.

Levi stared at his phone. Mikasa didn't look _anything_ like Eren. Eren was German, and Mikasa looked Asian.

_I thought he said she was his sister.. Maybe their parents are of different races?_

Also, she wasn't wearing a scarf in the picture.

Levi wouldn't honestly be surprised it he forgot to tell her what he looked like. And if he had told her, Levi was scared to find out what he said about him. He sighed and clutched his hands together tightly. Since he was picking up someone from the airport, he couldn't have taken his motorcycle because they were coming off an airplane. Mikasa was bound to have luggage.

He had managed to borrow Hanji's Silver Ford Mustang Convertible after she questioned why he would need her car at 8pm, and although the exterior was nice, the inside was wrecked. Levi spent a good 20 minutes cleaning out all of the trash and vacuuming the seats to rid them of countless crumbs. Levi loved his friend,  _he really did,_ but she _really_ needed to learn to clean.

"So you're the pipsqueak that my brother's been hanging around recently?" A voice cut through Levi's music. He looked up from where he was staring at his phone and saw a girl that looked like the one that Eren had texted him a picture of.

"You know, I didn't have to come get you." Levi unplugged his earbuds and they stared at each other, sizing the other up. Levi stuck a gloved hand out to her. "Levi." At least he was actually trying to get along with her.

She shook it. "Mikasa," she introduced with a curt nod. Levi noticed she had 2 suitcases with her but she didn't seem to need any help. Mikasa seemed like the kind to be able to take care of herself. He pondered for a moment if she was the one to take care of Eren.

_She probably is, considering how much of a klutz he is._

Levi led Mikasa to Hanji's Mustang and he took her luggage from her without a word, placing it in the backseat while Mikasa got into the passenger's side. Levi moved around to the driver's side and he started the car. "This isn't my car, so sorry about the mess."

When he started to back out, Mikasa spoke. "It isn't messy.." She paused. "Sorry for giving you a hard time.. I just don't want Eren hanging around with the wrong crowd, you know?"

"I don't think he will," Levi said, turning on the right blinker. "Eren's a good kid. He has a lot of potential."

Mikasa eyed Levi. "How old are you?"

"What?" Levi furrowed his brows and glanced Mikasa's way before focusing back onto the road. "Where did that come from?"

"Well, Eren said you were in your 20s, but I can't believe that."

Levi sighed. "Damn brat. I'm 24."

"You really don't look 24."

"I don't know if that's a compliment or if it was an insult." Levi turned to look at her when they pulled up to a stoplight.

Mikasa gave him a small laugh. "A little bit of both, I think."

 

"Thank you, thank you,  _thank you!!!_ " Eren hugged Levi, squeezing him until the smaller man couldn't breath.

"It wasn't really a problem at all. It's not like I was planning on getting sleep tonight anyways..." Levi mumbled the last part under his breath so only Eren could hear. At the moment, Eren was one of the few people who knew about his sleeping disorder. He didn't plan on telling the other two brats in the room. "So who's your friend," Levi inquired, looking at the blonde who was observing them with intuitive blue eyes. It reminded him of Erwin.

"Oh! Right." Eren got off of Levi and then turned to face Armin. "Armin, meet Levi. Levi, this is Armin. He's really smart and helped me with my Calculus homework the other day, remember?"

"Yeah, I do believe you mentioned him." Levi said, holding his hand out to Armin, who was - disappointingly - taller than him. Armin grabbed his hand, which was still gloved, and shook it.

"Armin. It's nice to meet you, Levi. Eren talks quite a lot about you," he said, smiling.

"Does he now?" Levi looked at Eren, who was blushing like a madman.

"Quite often." Levi raised a brow at Eren. He didn't respond but only looked down at the ground.

"Oh, Armin. I just remembered," Mikasa started. "Did Eren ever give you that copy of 'Through a Child's Eyes,' because I need a discussion partner after what happened in chapter 12." Levi's eyes widened slightly at the mention of his book. Chapter 12.. When the blonde little boy Nathan witnesses his friends' death..

"No, he never did actually, but I bought my own copy a couple days after the book was released."

"I nearly cried my eyes out," Mikasa said, smiling sadly.

"I cried my eyes out." Eren piped in.

"I didn't get that far yet, so please don't spoil," Armin said with a pallid expression.

Levi felt like he was invading on a special moment. After a few moments of silence, Levi spoke. "It's getting late, and since I took my friend's car, I should return it.."

"Oh. Okay. Well, have a safe drive to your friend's house!" Eren smiled widely at Levi and Levi's heart skipped a beat. He felt his cheeks heat up so slightly, but anything on this ivory skin would be noticeable. He turned away.

"See you later."


	11. 'Crushes'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Armin and Mikasa tease Eren about his crush on Levi, as do his friends at school. Eren goes to Calculus where he notices Annie is in his class. Eren later goes home and calls Levi, hopes high.

“You like him, don't you?” Armin asked once Levi had left out the front door.

Eren felt his face heat up. “ _No!_ No, I don't like him!”

“Stop lying to yourself, Eren. You have a crush on him. That's okay with me, although I'm not sure about what Mikasa thinks.” Armin looked at Mikasa as he said it.

“Levi's.. _okay_. Though, I don't know what you see in him.”

Eren's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. “Are you even listening to me? I said I don't like him! He's just a friend, okay?”

“And that's why you stare at him like he's food and you've been starving for 30 days? Eren, it's pretty damn obvious you like him so just shut up about it.” Mikasa said, smiling despite herself.

“But-” Eren started, but it was hopeless. He did like being around Levi but that didn't mean anything, did it? “Okay, maybe I _kind of_ like him.”

“There you go!” Armin said, smiling at Eren.

* * *

 

Levi rubbed his eyes once he arrived at Hanji's home. He honestly just wanted to drive home but Hanji claimed she didn't mind him staying over for the night and practically forced him into her house.

“Levi, Levi, Levi!!! Don't be shy, come here!!” Hanji called from the kitchen.

Levi took off his shoes – force of habit, and he wandered into her kitchen. It was.. not as clean as Levi liked, but for Hanji, it was a job well done. He looked around the room and shook his head before glancing over to where Hanji stood. “Yes?”

“Tea?” Hanji was holding a kettle and she stared at Levi. He nodded and sat down at her table.

“So, why am I here instead of my own apartment?”

“Ah, yes. I'm sure you've seen it on the news right?” Hanji poured Levi some tea and set down the cup in front of him. “It's not safe outside around this time of night. Apparently there's a gang in the area that call themselves 'AHSS' and they go around this time of night smashing up people's cars and breaking into places. They attack people by themselves at night.”

Levi sipped at his tea as he listened to Hanji. “They smash up cars?”

“Yeah. They've been caught doing it apparently.”

Levi sighed. “Eren's car was smashed up so I drove him to school this morning. Think it might have been them?”

“It very well could have been.”

Levi sipped at his tea once more before continuing to talk. “Bastards..”

* * *

 

“Wait a second. We don't have school next week?” Eren questioned his new group of friends who had been talking about their plans for Thanksgiving Break.

Ymir was the first to respond. “No, _dipshit_. Thanksgiving is next week.”

Reiner laughed. “Eren, you're just _now_ finding out?”

“Imagine the look on his face when he would arrive on Monday and no one else was there,” Sasha teased and Eren frowned, his eyebrow twitching. Everyone laughed.

“I'm sure Mikasa would tell him before he got that far, right?” Connie asked, still laughing.

“No, I'd let him get ready and go to school by himself and I'd watch him suffer,” Mikasa said, glancing at Eren.

Eren stared at Mikasa, his mouth agape. “You're terrible!”

Krista laughed and held onto Ymir's arm tighter. “Don't worry, Eren. I'm sure you would have found out before you went home today,” she said, smiling.

“I still don't get how you went this entire week without knowing that Thanksgiving was next Thursday...” Marco added.

“Yeah, that just seems kind of careless, don't you think?” Bertoldt said.

“Shut up you guys. I've had a lot on my mind recently,” Eren defended.

“Thinking about your crush?” Ymir teased.

Eren flushed. “No! Why does everyone assume I have a crush??”

“Because it's obvious,” Armin said, smiling at Eren.

“Ooh! This is gonna be good. Tell us Eren!!” Sasha said, stuffing another mouthful of her potato into her mouth.

“Guys, I-” Eren's gaze went to everyone's face and he realized there was a girl in the background who was the only one not staring at Eren. Her blonde hair fell in front of her face and she moved it behind her ear with a single swipe of the back of her hand. Annie, her name was. She came to the group yesterday, Thursday, when Mikasa did. Apparently, she had also been touring colleges. “I don't..”

Annie sighed quite loudly and everyone looked to her. “Honestly, I don't really see why you're all so interested in Eren's love life. If he likes someone, he likes them. Big whoop.” Annie shifted her bored gaze to Eren, who was all too thankful for her interruption.

Eren sighed in relief when he heard the bell ring. He had Calculus next and then he wouldn't have to see any of them except for Mikasa after school. Everyone said their goodbyes as they all parted ways to their 5th period class. Eren realized Annie was walking in the same direction as he was.

_Maybe she just has a class in the same building as I do._

Eren continued to walk to his class and he stood amongst his Calculus classmates. He stared down at his phone for a while, scrolling through his Tumblr feed. He had gotten a ton of followers ever since Humanity's Strongest had started following him. That's when Eren noticed a white jacket and blonde hair. Eren looked up from his phone and he saw Annie standing next to him in the line of students. He never noticed she was in his class before.

Eren figured it was now or never. “Hey, um.. Thanks for earlier, I guess...” He started. He really was thankful that Annie had piped in when she did because it got his friends off his back about the entire 'crush' situation.

“No problem. It was getting on my nerves hearing them talk about your supposed 'crush' anyway.” Annie looked at Eren and she motioned toward the door with a tilt of her head. “They're going in.”

“O-oh, right. Sorry.”

* * *

 

Eren had left school right after Calculus had ended and arrived home 20 minutes later. He practically threw his backpack down once he arrived in his room and face-planted onto his bed. He sighed.

Eren didn't have school for the entire next week. He smiled into his pillow and pulled his phone out. Eren typed in his password that was his own name, and Eren thought he was so clever to have come up with that on a whim. After typing in the 4 digit code, Eren's eyes scanned his contacts list. He found the person whom he wished to call and tapped his name.

_Calling Levi <3..._

Eren put the phone up to his ear and waited for Levi to pick up. When he did answer, Levi sounded extremely tired.

“Hello?” Levi said.

“Hi Levi! How are you doing?”

“Eh. I'm okay, I guess. Just _really_ fucking tired... Anyways, what do you need, kid?”

“Um, so I was wondering.. Are you doing anything for Thanksgiving?” Eren asked. It was worth a shot to try and invite Levi over for a Thanksgiving feast if he wasn't doing anything.

“Yeah, I've got something planned. Why?” Levi said bluntly.

Eren almost face palmed.  _Duh! He probably has a girlfriend or something!_

“Oh, no reason.” Eren's heart sank. “I was just wondering...” He had to work to keep his voice from cracking.

“Alright. So I-” There was a loud crashing sound on the other line. “HANJI!! What the hell are you..” Eren waited for Levi to bring his attention back to the phone. Levi sighed. “Sorry. I have to get going. Hanji's trashing my apartment. I'll talk to you later, Eren.”

“Yeah.. Bye.” Eren hung up.

His mood had changed drastically since before he called Levi. Honestly, Eren felt like an idiot for assuming Levi was single. Eren's face fell and he groaned into his pillow. How could he assume that someone as hot as Levi was single? And Eren didn't even know if he was gay or bi or if he even liked him like _that!_

Eren groaned again into his pillow.


	12. Thanksgiving

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi goes to Erwin's Thanksgiving party with Hanji and gets wasted after a bottle of wine and multiple shots of vodka while Eren talks about what he's thankful for at the Braun residence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been wanting to post this chapter for a while now, but due to the fact my internet's been a little poop, I couldn't. So I kept writing, and writing, and OH. It's about 4000 words in estimate, plus or minus 51.
> 
> Sorry it took so long to post. (If there's any grammar or spelling errors, please inform me right away because I didn't really edit this chapter due to the fact that it's longer.)
> 
> Enjoy!

“Why did you want me to come to Erwin's shitty little Thanksgiving party again?” Levi questioned as he buckled his seatbelt in the passenger's seat of Hanji's car.

“Well, I think you should meet some people in the company. They're all _dying_ to meet you, Humanity's Strongest!” Hanji said, smiling widely.

Levi stared at his publisher and he rolled his eyes. He didn't want to meet anyone Hanji and Erwin were associated with. His publishing company, 'Survey Incorporated,' was filled with wackos like Hanji. Levi sighed and grasped onto the door handle, bracing himself for Hanji's driving skills, or lack thereof. Hanji started the car and Levi quietly prayed to himself that he didn't die young.

* * *

 

“Holy _fuck_ , remind me to _never_ get in your car when you're driving.”

Hanji just laughed as she slammed the door shut to her car and locked it, putting the convertible top up. Levi shook his head as he made his way to Erwin's porch with Hanji by his side. She knocked on the door and smiled at Levi, elbowing him when he didn't smile back, but rather, flipped her off.

Erwin answered the door and Levi could already feel himself regretting his decision to come here. The smell of cheap beer pushed Levi away from the door, but Hanji was directly behind him and had a hand on his back, pushing him toward the tall blonde that stood in the doorway.

“I was beginning to wonder when you two would show up,” Erwin said, smiling as he let the two people inside.

Levi swallowed hard when he realized just how many people were here. He felt a tightness in his chest as he took in the entire situation he had let himself fall into. _Curse Hanji for bringing me here.._

No one seemed to take notice of Levi's presence, which he was glad for. Now all he had to do was manage to survive for the night by-

“Erwin, I think the turkey is-” The girl who stepped out from Erwin's kitchen had short, blonde hair and tilted her head when her eyes met Levi's. “Oh? Who's this?”

To Levi's horror, the woman who pointed him out made everyone else who was there look over to where he was standing. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly as Erwin introduced him. “This is Levi, but he's more commonly known for his books under the pen name Humanity's Strongest.”

Levi didn't say anything as they all seemed to take him in. A girl with shoulder length strawberry blonde hair approached him. “Hi! I'm Petra, I'm a huge fan of your books. I'm a publisher for Survey Inc, like Hanji.” She didn't hold out her hand and Levi couldn't have been more grateful. He wasn't looking forward to shaking unclean hands.

“Petra, _this_ is the guy who's been taking your time away from me?” Levi looked over to see a man with dirty blonde hair and a face that seemed to be mimicking Levi's facial expression quite terribly.

“Auruo, shut your trap. Levi's an _amazing_ author,” Petra fired back and Levi's lips pressed together.

Levi watched as Petra and 'Auruo' bickered back and forth until two others came and broke up their little fight.

“Sorry about that, Levi. Hi, I'm Gunther and this is Eld. We're also in the company as authors. That over there is Auruo. Don't mind him. He's a bit jealous.” Gunther said, smiling in apology.

Petra came back over after she sent Auruo's sorry ass off to get a napkin for his bleeding tongue. “Anyways, what's your new book about?” Petra leaned in close when she said it, almost touching Levi.

Levi took a small step away and said, “I'd prefer to keep it a secret, and can you not lean so close?”

“Ah! Sorry,” Petra blushed and took a step back as Hanji put her arm around his shoulder.

“Sorry honey, but Levi isn't straight,” she beamed. Levi glared at Hanji in annoyance as Petra seemed to take into account that she was hitting on a gay man and blushed in embarrassment.

* * *

 

Levi stared at the table cloth as people shoved food down their throats. He couldn't bring himself to eat anything that had been prepared. It smelled good, yes, but Levi didn't wish to down food in front of other people whom he had never met. Levi sat next to Erwin and Hanji. Next to Hanji was a man, who was taller than Erwin, named Mike. Next to him was the woman who had spotted Levi in the beginning – Nanaba. The table stopped there and across from Levi was Petra, Auruo, Gunther, and Eld. There were other people there sitting at other tables in Erwin's huge-ass backyard, but Levi really couldn't care.

After witnessing people's rude eating habits at least 6 more times, Levi excused himself from the table. He found himself in Erwin's bathroom washing his hands until they were raw from the scrubbing. Levi shut off the water at the sound of knocking.

He opened the door to meet the blue eyes of Erwin and Levi saw concern in them. “Are you okay? You didn't eat anything.”

“Not hungry,” he lied.

“Yeah right. Coming to a Thanksgiving party and not being hungry?” Levi shrugged in response, casting his gaze to the floor.

“I'm not one to eat large dinners with large masses of people. Plus, I'm more thirsty than hungry,” Levi stated as he walked out of the bathroom and into the hallway with Erwin.

“Lucky you.” Erwin said. “We just busted out the drinks.”

* * *

 

Levi had lost count of how many glasses of wine he had. He probably finished a bottle of the expensive ones by himself, and even then, the buzz wasn't too bad. Levi wasn't one to get drunk easily, on the rare occasion that he did drink. He had an extremely high alcohol intake, which was good for drinking contests but absolutely horrendous when he wanted to sit back and relax until he passed out.

To Levi, alcohol didn't even taste that good. In all honesty, it tasted like shit, but Levi didn't care. He wanted to drink away and he could now, considering that everyone around him was on the verge of passing out.

Only a few people remained sober. Those including Mike, Erwin, Moblit, and himself. Mike claimed that he didn't drink, as did Moblit when he said he was underage. Erwin, on the other hand, handled his alcohol well. Levi knew that Erwin had more than just a few glasses of wine like Levi, but somehow he remained his usual eyebrow-y self.

Nothing really changed.

Levi was about to pop open another bottle when someone's hand was on his arm. He turned to see it was Erwin. “What?”

“I have better booze in my room, if you want to drink some.”

Levi scoffed. “In your room? What, do you have a hidden stash under your bed?”

It was meant as a joke. Really, Levi didn't mean it when he asked if he had a hidden stash of alcohol under his bed but apparently this man did. The booze that Erwin got from under his bed was hardcore straight alcohol. Any normal man would get drunk within 3-4 shots.

Good thing Erwin and Levi weren't normal.

They moved back out to the kitchen where shot glasses could be found. Two glasses were set down from the cupboard and Erwin, being the gentleman he was, poured Levi's glass first, then his own.

Levi stared at the clear liquid then at Erwin, who was staring at him. “Let's play a game,” Levi suggested.

“What might that be?”

“Truth or dare. Or drink.” Levi stared into Erwin's eyes. “It's like truth or dare but if you don't want to answer the question or do the dare, you can take a drink instead.”

“Are you ready to get wasted, Levi?”

“That's my line. You first.”

“Truth or dare?”

“Truth..” Levi said, unsure of what Erwin would ask him.

“How many times have you had sex?”

“Already getting to the juicy stuff, eh?” Levi shook his head, a small smile present on his lips. “About 6 times throughout high school and then once with you, so.. 7. Truth or dare?”

“Dare.”

Levi smirked. “I dare you to take a shot.”

“That's not fair! Shouldn't daring someone to take a shot be against the rules?”

“Ehh.. I don't fucking know. I just thought of the game. Here, I'll do it with you.” Levi and Erwin took a shot.

Erwin refilled the glasses as he asked, “Truth or dare?”

“Truth.”

“Aren't you the pansy..”

“I don't feel like doing anything right now that involves me getting up.”

Erwin smiled and thought of what he could ask Levi. “How's your book coming along?” Levi stared at Erwin. “Well?”

Levi took a shot and Erwin busted up in laughter.

“Truth or dare, Eyebrows.”

“Truth.”

“Fuck, I don't have anything to ask you. Can't you pick dare?”

“Look who's talking.”

Levi sighed. “Fine. Why do you love me?”

Erwin smiled at Levi. “I love your crude personality and the way you aren't afraid to swear when-”

“Never mind, forget I even asked,” Levi shook his head as Erwin's grin widened.

“Truth or dare, Levi?”

“I'm feeling ballsy. Dare.”

“I dare you to give your best girl moan.”

“Fuck, really?” Levi felt like he was in high school when Erwin nodded his head, laughing slightly. “Alright, here goes nothing.” Levi cleared his throat. “Don't stare at me, pervert. I can't do it when you're fucking staring into my eyes.” Levi reached over and punched Erwin.

“Sorry, I'm not sorry,” Erwin laughed and looked away.

“Okay.. Fuck my life. Here goes my self respect for a year.” Levi paused and Erwin honestly thought he was going to opt out of the dare and take a drink when he heard it. Levi moaned like he was a female reaching orgasm and Erwin looked over at him in surprise.

Levi's face was that of pretend ecstasy and Erwin swallowed hard to suppress his urge to take the smaller man right on the kitchen table. He looked away, flustered with himself.

“Truth or dare, Erwin.”

“Truth.”

“Did you get hard when I moaned for you?” Levi was leaning in closer to Erwin's face. Obviously, the vodka was kicking in.

Erwin stared at Levi's face, both impassive. Neither of them spoke and Erwin slowly leaned down as Levi slowly leaned forward.

“Just kiss already!!”

Levi's head turned and Erwin felt completely discouraged and watched the entire mood crumble. “Hanji? I thought you were asleep on the couch..” Levi's voice was filled with confusion.

“I was.. but then the TITANS ATTACKED!!” Hanji laughed and fell over.

Levi turned his attention back to Erwin, who seemed to be enjoying watching Levi lean over the table, his ass displayed for all to see. He glanced at Erwin, then at the table, then back at Erwin before realizing the exact position he was in.

Levi leaned back faster than lightning. He cleared his throat. “Sorry..” Levi started tapping his finger on the table as he avoided Erwin's gaze. “You didn't answer my question.”

Erwin hadn't expected that. “I'll only answer it if you drink.”

“Fuck you, that's not how the game's played.”

“You pulled a cheap one on me too, you know.”

Levi frowned. “Fine. Whatever.” Levi readied his shot glass.

“Yes, your moan would turn on any man who was in their wrong mind.”

“Are you in your wrong mind or something?” Levi drank the shot then sat down the glass rather forcibly. “Another.”

Erwin poured him another and watched as Levi repeated the action. After about the fourth time, he decided that was enough. Erwin made sure the vodka bottle was far from Levi's reach.

“Errrrrwwiiiiiiiiiiiin....” Levi whined, his head laying on the table.

“Yes Levi?” Erwin had a pleasant smile on his face. It wasn't often he saw Levi unravel his drunk self in front of him. Levi was definitely amusing to watch when drunk.

“I'm booooorrreeeddd. Let's _do_ somethhiiiiiiinng...”

“Like what?”

“I dunno, you suggest something.”

This suddenly felt like an all too familiar situation and Erwin's smirk fell. “Let's get you to bed..”

Levi wore a pained expression on his face when Erwin didn't suggest anything fun they could do together. “Erwin, I'm not tired.” Levi suddenly sat up and unbuttoned his flannel shirt suggestively. “I'm bored and,” Levi took a moment to stare down at his crotch. “And I'm horny, Erwin. Let's do something.” Amazingly, Levi's words didn't slur together, and the way Levi was talking had stirred something in Erwin's own pants, but now was not the time to think of that. Levi had made it clear that he had no feelings toward him in _that_ sort of way, and Levi was drunk as hell. There was no way Levi would want to do this again if he was sober, right?

Erwin's train of thoughts stopped when he realized that Levi was no longer sitting in front of him but rather on his lap. Levi dug his thighs into Erwin's lap and Levi's hair covered his eyes in the most perfect way. And Levi tempted Erwin, unbuttoning his shirt more and rubbing himself all over.

And Erwin was only human and humans give into temptations.

Levi moaned when Erwin's mouth came to his neck. He turned his head to give the blonde better access and Levi gasped in pleasure when Erwin sucked on Levi's pale skin. It was surely going to leave a mark.

“Erwin, let's move this to your room. I don't want anyone interrupting us..”

Erwin nodded in agreement and removed himself from Levi's neck. Levi got off his lap and stood up, nearly falling over from lack of balance. “Here, let me help you.”

Erwin picked Levi up and carried him bridal style down the hall. He passed the bathroom where he heard someone vomiting. Erwin peeked into the room to find Hanji bent over the toilet and Mike holding her bangs back from falling into her face. Mike gave Erwin a nod of approval when he saw him carrying Levi.

When they reached Erwin's bedroom, he laid Levi down on the bed and unbuttoned the last 4 buttons on his flannel. He moved it aside and when he looked back to Levi's face, he found Levi had fallen asleep. Erwin smiled to himself as he watched Levi's sleeping face. It wasn't much different than his normal expression, but something about it seemed more peaceful.

He figured Levi would be more comfortable in his rest if he wasn't wearing his dark skinny jeans. Erwin worked on undoing the zipper and button on his jeans. Levi stirred in his sleep, squirming around when Erwin 'accidentally' brushed Levi through his boxers and he released a shaky gasp. Erwin slipped Levi's pants down all the way and folded them, moving to put them down next to Levi's shirt.

Erwin decided he'd get some rest as well. He lifted his shirt up and over his head, taking it off completely. When he started to unbutton his own jeans, he felt small arms wrap around his neck, dangling loosely by his collarbone. A face appeared in his peripheral vision to his right. Erwin only glanced at Levi's face before continuing his action before being embraced by Levi who _had_ to be standing on the bed in order to reach this high.

Levi started to lick up Erwin's neck, digging his finger nails into his chest. Erwin let his pants fall to the ground and he kicked them off his ankles before turning around to face the small man who was, in fact, standing on the bed. Levi almost fell over when he didn't have Erwin to grab onto, but Erwin grabbed his hand to steady him.

“Careful,” Erwin said, helping Levi lay back onto the bed. It was one glance across Levi's entire body and Erwin knew he hadn't been lying when he told him he was horny. Levi stared into Erwin's eyes and licked his lips. He sat up when Erwin moved to sit next to him and Levi placed a hand on Erwin's boxers, tugging at the lining as he made out with him.

* * *

 

“Thanks for inviting us over Reiner,” Armin said as he sat down with his plate of food.

“It's my pleasure. You guys are pretty cool, so it's not like I didn't want to.” Reiner replied.

As of right now, Eren, Armin, and Mikasa were at Reiner's house for a Thanksgiving dinner party. Everyone in their friends group was there, including introverted Annie sitting next to him. Eren was still slightly down about Levi's blunt rejection, even if he hadn't meant it to be that way.  
  
“The one you really should be thanking is Krista. If it weren't for her _amazing_ cooking skills, we'd probably be eating charcoal.”

Krista blushed and Ymir swung and arm around her, exclaiming, “That's my girl!”

They all ate in peace and a comfortable silence. Every now and then, someone would comment about the food or tell a really lame Thanksgiving joke, which Eren would groan at, along with everyone else in the room.

Things were going well. Sasha got seconds five times while everyone else could barely manage to get the pie down their throat.

“Alright, Thanksgiving isn't all about food, it's also about giving thanks and stuff, so.. Why don't we go around in a circle and say what we're thankful for?” Marco suggested, smiling.

Even if the idea sounded like something middle schoolers would do, no one, absolutely _no one human_ could turn down Marco and his smile. Everyone nodded in agreement and Marco's smiled widened. “Okay, I'll go first then.”

Eren though about what he would say. He could state the obvious. He was thankful for a roof over his head and for wonderful friends and for his family. Eren took a moment to recite what he would say in his mind before it came to him.

It was Annie's turn now. “..My friends. You guys can be annoying as all hell sometimes, but you guys are yourselves, which is something that I value in people.”

“Eren?” Marco prompted him to go.

“Oh, right. Um..” Eren took a breath. “I'm thankful for having a roof over my head and for wonderful friends. You guys are like my family, since I don't really have one other than Mikasa over here.” Eren smiled. “To be honest here, I kind of thought you guys would be complete jerks when we approached you, but you guys were pretty awesome, so thanks for that.” Eren took a moment to gather his thoughts. He opened his mouth to speak, but then smiled when he thought about what he was about to say. Eren's cheeks heated up. “Also, there's this guy that I'm pretty thankful for.”

* * *

 

Levi moaned out in pleasure when Erwin entered him. He was on his hands and knees on Erwin's bed and Levi's body was overwhelmed with drunk pleasure.

“I'm going to move,” Erwin informed and Levi braced himself for the oncoming thrusts. The moment Erwin went deeper caused Levi to moan out again, only to bite his lip the next time he felt the urge to make his pleasure vocal. Erwin didn't like it.

“I want to hear you, Levi.”

“B-but, there's other people-!” Levi tried to keep his voice down as Erwin's pace picked up. “There's other people out there! They'll hear us..”

“Everyone's passed out. I doubt they'll wake up.” Despite Erwin's words, Levi kept his bottom lip captive under his teeth, refusing to make a sound. “Levi,” Erwin leaned down next to Levi's ear. “ _Let me hear you."_

* * *

 

“He's really important to me – not that you guys aren't, but it's just weird. I barely know him and I just feel like he's..”

“Made for you?” Jean sneered.

“I know it sounds _really_ stupid now that I'm saying it out loud, but yeah. He's gotten me out of a few tight spaces and I'm thankful for him.”

“You sure sound fond of him.” Ymir commented. “I think you and this guy should hook up.”

Eren's face turned a deep shade of red. “N-no, I think he has someone in his life already.”

Ymir's eyebrow raised. “There's no harm in asking if you really like him that much. If he is with someone, oh well. He'd be the one missing out.”

* * *

 

“Erwin.. Erwin, I'm close,” Levi breathed, gripping the sweat-covered sheets. The moment he said it, Erwin flipped Levi over onto his back and pulled out. “ _Erwin,_ ” Levi whined, frustrated the friction had come to a stop.

Erwin wanted to tease Levi, to drag out his orgasm until he came so hard he passed out like the rest of the people that were surely lying on the tile flooring in his living room.

“Beg.”

Levi arched his back when Erwin's hand brushed his inner thigh. He was sensitive there. “Fuck, Erwin. _Please_ , I'm so close. _Please._ I need some sort of release,” Levi begged while propping himself up on his elbows and staring into Erwin's eyes.

“Ride me.” The words had slipped out involuntary, but apparently Levi was so desperate that he'd obey any and all commands Erwin gave him. A small pale hand pushed Erwin's chest down so he was the one laying on the bed, and not Levi.

Levi positioned himself over Erwin and directed his length to his hole. He shivered when his shaft, covered in pre-cum, rubbed against his ass. Levi lowered himself onto Erwin and gasped out a long, sweet moan. Erwin thought back to when Levi had moaned like a girl and realized that Levi hadn't moaned like a girl. Levi had moaned like himself, and Erwin _loved_ it.

Levi bounced himself up and down atop Erwin and Levi once again could feel himself pushed to the edge. “Erwin, I think- I think I'm going to-”

Erwin stoke Levi a few times and that was all it took. Levi came into Erwin's hand and fell onto him once he rode out his orgasm, still sitting on Erwin's own erection. After a few moments when Levi caught his breath, he got off of Erwin. “I'll suck you off.” Levi sounded out of breath.

Erwin sat on the bead, spreading his legs so Levi had better access to his hardened length. Levi seemed to stare at it in amazement before he flicked his tongue across the head. He took Erwin in slowly, sucking on the head before starting to move his head up and down. His pace quickened when Erwin's breathing grew labored. Soon enough, Levi's head was bobbing up and down. Erwin felt a sensation run down his spine when Levi's small hands clasped his balls and he could feel it coming soon.

“Levi, oh shit, don't stop.” Levi's hands played with his balls as he moved faster. Erwin felt it in the bit of his stomach. He was going to come.

Erwin placed his hands onto Levi's head and shoved his head down so his mouth was at the base of his erection. He forcibly moved Levi's head up and down all the way again, choking him. He felt Levi's hands hit his thighs as if to tell him to stop, but Erwin was so close. He pulled Levi back up to the tip and gave him barely enough time to take a breath before shoving him back down to the base. Levi's small mouth was hardly large enough to wrap around Erwin's entire boner, but that didn't matter.  
  
Erwin came into Levi's mouth and his grip on his head forced him to swallow. Erwin let go and Levi shot off it, breathing heavily. “Fuck, were you trying to kill me?”

Erwin laughed and grinned. “Sorry.. Has anyone ever told you, you give the best blow jobs?”

Levi yawned. “Don't know, don't care. My head hurts.” Levi climbed back onto the bed with Erwin and laid down with Erwin's body behind him, his large arms wrapping around his torso and for once in a month, Levi fell asleep.

* * *

 

Eren smiled sheepishly. “Thanks for the encouragement. I think I'll ask him when I have a good chance and know him better. You guys really are the best.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you wondering, after this encounter, Eruri romance will no longer be present in this story. It's all Ereri from here on out! ;)


	13. Wake Up Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi wakes up in Erwin's bed and Eren wakes up on Reiner's floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shit happens. Good luck. :S

Groaning, Levi came to. His head was throbbing in pain and he scrunched his eyebrows in discomfort. He didn't want to get up if his head was hurting this badly, but after laying there for a few minutes, Levi figured he wasn't going to fall asleep anytime soon. Levi tried to sit up, but found that was a bit difficult. It was then that he realized the body pressed against his back - the large arms wrapped around his lower abdomen.

He panicked for a moment, uncovering the sheets to reveal his naked body, and Levi wanted to shoot himself.

_I'm an idiot. I'm a fucking idiot._

Levi carefully removed the arms from around his form and slipped from the person's grasp. He wanted to crawl into a hole and die when he saw Erwin's sleeping face. “Of all fucking people, it had to be him,” he whispered to himself, sitting on the edge of the bed with his head in his hands. Levi tried to recall last night's events, but he could only remember so much.

He came over with Hanji, then he didn't eat anything, and then.. And then he drank on an empty stomach. Levi ran a hand through his hair, pushing the bangs from his line of sight. And then he..

He... What happened?

Levi couldn't remember. The more he tried to bring up the events that surely happened last night, the more his head throbbed. How much did he drink?

A few minutes passed and Levi figured he'd try and search out his clothing. He found them folded rather haphazardly in the corner of Erwin's room. Slipping on his boxers, Levi looked over to the bed where Erwin still laid.

They had sex, hadn't they?

Levi was sure of it. If they hadn't, then why did he wake up naked in Erwin's bed? Levi didn't bother putting the rest of his clothing on. He sat back down on the bed and thought.

A hand was placed on Levi's shoulder. He shrugged it off, not bothering to spare a glance toward the man sitting behind him. After a few moments passed of silence, Erwin's arms wrapped around Levi.

He hugged him from behind but Levi was far too disappointed in himself to push him off, so he just let it happen. Erwin hugged him and Levi rested his head on his chest. “We had sex, didn't we?”

Erwin seemed surprised. “Yes, we.. We did. You don't... _remember_?”

Levi sighed. “No. I can't remember anything besides the fact that I drank a shitton, but.. I don't usually get drunk, so I don't know.”

“Well.. You didn't eat anything. It's not good to drink on an empty stomach.”

Another minute passed in silence. “I'm sorry,” Levi whispered into the dim room, closing his eyes.

“What?”

Levi shifted in Erwin's grip. “I said I'm sorry. I probably pushed you into having sex with me again, right? I'm sorry.”

Erwin sighed and shook his head. “It's not your fault. You didn't force me into anything. If anything, it's my fault.”

“How the fuck is it _your_ fault? I'm the one that decided to get so drunk that the next morning I won't remember what I did the hours prior to me falling asleep. It's not your fault, it's mine.”

“No, Levi. It it isn't your fault. Don't blame yourself. I should have been more responsible with the alcohol, especially since I knew that you didn't eat anything.”

Levi removed Erwin's hands from around his shoulders. “Whatever.” He started to get dressed, checking to make sure his phone was still in the pocket of his jeans. Levi had two unread texts from Eren.

He sighed when he read them, feeling even more guilty about what he had done with Erwin and for rejecting Eren's offer to spend Thanksgiving with him. Maybe if he had gone with Eren and his friends, then he wouldn't be waking up in another man's bed.

In fact, Levi was almost 100% positive he wouldn't have woken up in another man's bed at all. He'd probably would have hung out with Eren and then left because he had stuff to do like clean and write his book and-

_Shit._

Levi had been putting off writing his book because, low and behold, writer's block had made itself present once again.

_Fuck my life._

Levi had managed to put his clothes on while he glared at the wall in deep thought about how the hell he was going to finish his book. He didn't even know what he would call it yet, and it was supposed to be finished by February so it could be published in March.

_Shit, it's already the end of November and I only have 6 chapters done.. Fuck._

It wasn't until Erwin's hand was placed upon Levi's shoulder that he realized he was grinding his teeth together in frustration. Erwin must have taken it in another way because before he knew it, he was telling him that Levi wasn't the one to blame for this situation. “Yeah, okay. I understand. Still. I'm sorry.”

“So am I.” Levi placed his hand on the doorknob to leave. “Hey, Levi.. Before you go, is it okay if I swing by later to see how far you've gotten on your book?”

“Yeah. It's not like I've got anything planned...” Levi did a mental check of his schedule before responding.

“Okay. How's Tuesday sound?”

Levi resisted the urge to scream. It was Friday, so that only have him 3 full days to work on it, not counting today. He would have to write like a madman to get at least 4 more chapters done.

“Sounds great. See you then, I guess.” Levi left the room, not bothering to wait for a response from the blonde.

* * *

 

With a smile on his face, Eren scanned the room. He had just woken up from his friend's sleepover and he couldn't be happier. Eren recalled the night's events like it was nothing and his smile widened as he remembered his supportive friends.

Eagerly, Eren opened his phone to view his text messages and his heart skipped a beat when he saw that Levi had read his texts and had _responded_.

On the inside, Eren cringed. He sounded like a stalker in his mind, but he passed it off as just being excited about finally deciding to ask Levi the big 1 million dollar question that had been on his mind since last night. Eren was determined to win over the stone-faced man's heart, even if it cost him his own in the process.

With that said, Eren got up from where he was laying on the tile floor in Reiner's living room. It seemed that two of the twelve people were missing – Krista and Ymir.

_That ain't none of my business..._

Eren looked back down at his phone to check the time. It was 10:00am on the dot. He pondered if Levi would be awake at this time before he almost face palmed, realizing his stupid mistake.

_Levi has fucking insomnia! Of course he's awake._

Eren laughed at himself before putting his phone away and heading toward the bathroom. Once inside, Eren locked the door and washed his face, running his wet hands through his hair in an attempt to calm the bed head. He stared directly at himself in the mirror and smirked. Eren felt pumped. He was sure that sometime soon he would get the balls to ask Levi out on a date. And he felt like that day was today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, Eren. If only you knew.


	14. Excitement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi walks home after realizing that Hanji drove him to Erwin's house. He runs into some trouble along the way. Meanwhile, Eren is very excited about asking Levi out and hopes he doesn't screw up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!

_Fan-fucking-tastic._

Levi, whom had just left Erwin's humble abode at the time of 10:48am, cursed himself for letting Hanji bring him to Erwin's stupid little party. He should have drove himself because now he had to walk home, for the woman was still passed out inside. Actually, he should have refused the offer completely, but Hanji had insisted he went.

He sighed. There was nothing he could do about it, and he wasn't about to turn around and go back inside of Erwin's house to ask for a ride home. That would be awkward as all hell, especially since he stormed out, not wanting to think about how Erwin would be coming over on _Tuesday, of all days_ , to check his progress and-

“ _Ugh_.” Levi _really_ didn't want to think about that.

But he had to. Levi figured he might as well start figuring out what he was going to do. His chapters were exceptionally long; it took about 20-25 minutes to read each, but he was stuck.

“Give us your money, and you'll live to see tomorrow.” Three people stood in front of Levi, interrupting his peaceful walk and thought process. He stopped walking, staring at them unamused when he saw they were taking up the entire sidewalk. The kid in the center pulled a knife out of his pocket.

Levi stared at them, unfazed. _That's it? That's literally all he's got to say?_

The center man had blonde dreadlocks; “Locks”. The guy to his right wore a 'Cool Story Babe.. Now Go Make Me A Sandwich' shirt and looked like a douchiest guy you'd ever meet; “Douche.” The guy to Lock's left had spiked up brown hair; “Spike.”

He decided to have fun with them. “Oh no. Don't hurt me. I'm so _fucking_ scared right now. Ahhh.” Levi said it in the most monotone voice he could manage.

“We ain't kiddin' 'round,” Spike said, pulling out his own knife.

“Yeah, and neither am I. I'm so _very_ terrified.” Levi frowned as Douche tried to run in and stab him. Levi redirected his hand and flipped the guy over him, despite being half his size. He took his knife from him and looked over the knife. It was a short knife, only about 3 inches. Levi smirked. “I bet your dick isn't even as long as this knife,” he said, holding it up.

“Why, you little bi-” Levi didn't let Spike finish his sentence, for he had been shut up by a kick rather close to the genitals.

Levi's phone rang.

* * *

 

Eren was so pumped. Almost too pumped, but still. He was very excited. It was 11:02am, and he was at home, calling Levi. Mikasa wasn't home – she had decided to spend time with Annie, whatever that meant – so he had the house to himself and could ask Levi out in privacy.

He almost jumped for joy when he heard Levi's voice. “He- Hello?”

“Levi! Hi!!” Eren was sure he sounded too excited so he cleared his voice. “Hi,” he tried again.

“H-” There was a groan on the other end. “Hey. How are you?” Levi sounded distracted on the line.

“I'm.. I'm doing great. What are you up to?”

“Huh? Oh, I'm-”

“DON'T JUST STAND THERE, GET HIM!!”

“Fuck, hold on Eren.”

Eren felt deeply confused about what was happening with Levi on the other end, but he waited. He heard a few loud shouts and screams and Eren's imagination ran wildly until Levi picked the phone back up.

“Hey, can I call you back? I'm sort of dealing with something here.”

“Y-yeah.”

* * *

 

Levi hung up the phone and looked back to the three guys that were beaten and bloody. “You guys aren't really good at this whole 'criminal' thing, are you?”

“Shut up! We're apart of the AHSS-” Spike said, before Locks put a hand over his mouth.

“AHSS? You're the little punks beating up cars and shit?” None of them said anything. Levi furrowed his brows and placed a foot atop Douche's face and started to grind the heel of his shoe into the boy's face. “Well? Get talking, unless you want me to break his nose..”

“We ain't sayin' nothin',” Douche said from under his Converse.

Levi's eye twitched. He stepped onto Douche's face harder, hearing a satisfying crack sound, indicating his nose was now broken. He glared at him once his foot was removed. “That's a double negative. You just contradicted yourself.”

He sighed before taking Spike's phone from his pocket and dialing 911. He told the cops there would be three thugs waiting to be arrested at the corner of Maria and Rose. Levi tossed the phone back onto Spike before starting to walk back to his apartment.

* * *

 

Eren sat on his bed, wondering what exactly was going on in Levi's end of the call when he had called him. It had been roughly 24 minutes since he called Levi. Eren decided he had waited long enough and called Levi again.

“Hello, shitty brat.”

Eren smiled and tried to fake an offended manor. “I'm not a brat,” he said, whining.

“Right.”

Eren laughed. He could almost picture Levi rolling his eyes right now. “So, what happened earlier?”

“Oh nothing much. I was walking home when I got mugged.”

Eren's eyes widened. Had he just heard Levi correctly? “Excuse me, _what?_ ”

“Yeah.” Levi released a huff of amusement. “They were quite the bunch, let me tell you.”

“Wait, wait, you were being _mugged? Are you okay?_ ”

“When you called, I was in the middle of kicking their asses. If anyone needs to go the hospital, it's them.”

Eren smiled a little. “Oh my fuck, Levi. Who the hell robs someone in the middle of the day?”

“Apparently the AHSS does.”

“AHSS?”

“Yeah. They're a gang that's getting a lot of attention lately. I think they're the culprits of your smashed up car.”

Eren frowned. “Those dicks..” Which reminded him, he'd have to get his car out of the shop soon after it was done being fixed.

“Anyways, why are you calling me?”

“Oh. I wanted to ask you a question..” Eren felt butterflies in his stomach. His attitude compared to earlier was completely different. He no longer felt that confidence that had burned inside him since last night. It was replaced by anxiety.

“Okay, so what is it?”

Eren took a deep breath. “Levi..” It was on the tip of his tongue. All he had to do was ask such a simple question and it was over.

“Yeah?” Levi urged him to continue.

“Are you single?” Eren blurted, blushing. He had asked the wrong thing and now Levi was going to hate him forever because he had fucked up everything and-

On the other line, Levi laughed shortly. “Yeah, I'd like to think I am.”

Eren paused his mental breakdown. _What?_ _What in the hell does that mean?_

“What?”

Levi chuckled again and Eren got chills down his spine from the beautiful sound. “Well, there's this guy and he and I were fuck buddies for a _very_ short period of time, I guess you could say. I mean, we only fucked twice and then called it off..”

Eren didn't know exactly how to take that.

“So yeah. I'm single. Why?” Eren swallowed. “Oh.. wait, is it because you happen to be-”

 _Fuck it,_ Eren decided. “Interested in you? Yeah. I am, and this is why I called you. If you aren't interested in me, then that's okay, but-”

“Eren-”

“I'm still going to try and-”

“ _Eren._ ” Levi said it in a stern tone this time.

“You aren't are you?”

“Dammit, Eren. Just shut up for a moment, will you?” Eren shut his mouth in an instant. “You barely know me and I barely know you-”

“If that's the problem then we can-”

“Eren, _I swear to all that is holy_ , I will come over to your fucking house and wring your neck if you interrupt me again.” Eren didn't say anything in response, fearing for his life. “Fuck, you're annoying sometimes. Anyways, _as I was saying_... We barely know each other, but...”

Eren perked up.

“But since you're never going to give up on me because you're a stubborn little shit, then I guess we can change that, yeah?”

Eren smiled. “Yes. _Fuck yes_.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like Levi's a bit OOC at the end there.. I'm not sure. Tell me what you guys think!


	15. Future Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren goes over to Levi's apartment and discuss topics that are fun to talk about..
> 
> For the most part.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Important notes at the end! Please read :D
> 
> And always, enjoy!
> 
> *subtle Skyrim references ahead*

It took convincing. A fuckton of convincing. Eren knew from his video game experiences that he'd need at least level 56 in Speech to convince Mikasa that spending the night at Levi's apartment was a good idea. Eren had called her while he was already there with Levi – not that he was going to let her know that. Eren knew that at 18 years old, he could make his own decisions, but he figured he should at least tell her where he'd be.

When Eren started getting angry at Mikasa for being totally against the idea, Levi took the phone from him and talked to her himself. One way or another, Levi ended up convincing her that he would do nothing to him and if he did, she could sue him and beat him up all she wanted. Eren figured Levi must have level 80 in his Speech skill.

As of right now, Levi was in his bedroom, typing away at his computer rather quickly. Eren was sitting on his bed, watching in amazement as his fingers moved across the keyboard almost in a graceful way, until they stopped abruptly.

Levi turned to look at Eren, his hands at a standstill on the keys. He stared into his eyes, making Eren feel slightly uncomfortable under his gaze. Eren smiled at Levi which made him make one of his signature sounds. “Tch.”

“What?”

Levi shook his head and looked back at his computer screen, typing a few more things before his eyes scanned over it and he continued to type. “You're such a brat.” Eren thought he saw a slight blush on Levi's cheeks.

Eren smirked, despite himself, and said, “I'm not a brat.”

Levi shook his head again and stopped typing. He saved the file and then shut his computer gently. “Right, you're not a brat. You're a _shitty_ brat.” Eren rolled his eyes and laughed. Levi sat in his swivel chair, and rubbed his right arm. “So.. You.. um.. Do you want to.. uh..” Levi sighed. “I don't get what you see in me.”

Eren laughed at Levi's awkwardness and Eren could see a hint of a smile on Levi's face. “You're funny.”

“I'm not.”

“Yes you are. You're fucking hilarious.”

“I don't try to be.”

Eren smiled widely like an idiot. “So what were you typing?”

“Oh.. A thing.”

“A thing?” Eren nodded his head. “Sounds.. _interesting._ ”

Levi nodded as well. “Yeah. It's uh.. It's.. It's a thing.”

They stared at each other before Eren smiled at the awkwardness between them. “How about you tell me about yourself?”

“Okay.. What would you like to know?”

“Uhh..” Eren thought for a moment. “I don't really know. What's your favorite color?”

“Well.. It used to be black, but now..” Levi looked into his eyes. “I think I'm going for more of a turquoise green color.”

Eren blushed and averted his gaze from Levi's. He was flustered at Levi's compliment and he was surprised at how one moment Levi could be the most awkward human being on the planet and then next he could be the smoothest. “Dammit, Levi.”

Levi smirked, little to Eren's knowledge, and stood up from his chair. He walked over to where Eren sat on his bed, his blushing face in his hands to keep Levi's gaze off of him, and pat his head. Eren looked up at Levi, and they stared at each other, slowly closing the distance between them and when it seemed like they were about to lock lips, Levi backed away and ruffled Eren's hair.

He faced the doorway and looked back at Eren, a sad look in his eyes, before walking out of the room. Eren sighed in slight disappointment before getting up and following Levi out. As he was walked out of his room, Eren noticed a door was open that had been closed before. He peeked inside and saw Levi sitting at a grand piano. The room was barren of any other objects.

“How did you manage to get a piano in here,” he asked, genuinely curious.

Levi turned his head to face him and answered his question. “Took off the legs and turned it on its side. Then I had my friends help me move it in here.” Levi scratched the back of his neck. “Sorry.”

Eren's eyebrow quirked as he entered the room. “For what?”

“Earlier.” Levi stared at the keys of the piano as he said it. Eren sat down next to him and swung an arm around his shoulder. Levi stiffened at the sudden contact before relaxing in his touch.

“No, it's fine, I get it,” Eren shook it off. Levi tilted his head to the left, fully exposing his neck and Eren couldn't help but stare at the rosy marks on his skin. Eren knew all too well what they were and decided not to comment on them – it was none of his business. “Soo..” Eren started, taking his gaze off his neck. “You play piano?”

“I used to. I don't really play that often anymore.”

“Really? I want to hear you play, though!”

“Maybe another time, if you're lucky,” Levi said it with a stern tone, telling Eren not to push it any further.

“Aw, okay.” Eren complied and removed his hand from around his shoulder.

“What do you like to do in your free time, Eren?”

Eren glanced at Levi only to find him staring out into space. “Um.. I like to draw and paint.. Anything involving art, really.”

“Oh?” Eren took that as a sign to continue.

“Yeah, though, I don't know what I'm going to do with that if I were to ever get a job involving art or something.”

“You could..” Levi started. “Never mind, you probably wouldn't want to.”

“No! What were you going to say?”

Levi looked at Eren. “You could become a book cover illustrator. You know, have your art on the cover of a popular book. Create some sort of captivating image to go along with the novel. I hear you get to work directly with the author.”

Eren stared at Levi, his mouth agape.

Levi furrowed his brows and looked away. “But you know.. It's just a suggestion and-”

“Why didn't I ever think of that?? I didn't even know that was a job until now!” Eren exclaimed. “How did you know?”

“My friend works in the publishing industry. He works with authors and things like that.”

Eren smiled widely and stood up from his spot next to Levi. “That's like.. the _best_ thing ever! What if-” Eren gasped and turned to look at Levi. “What if I get to draw cover art for Humanity's Strongest!?”

“Do you know what publishing company he's from?”

Eren's smiled faded and he pouted. “No..”

Levi smirked. “Survey Incorporated.”

Eren furrowed his brows. “How do you-”

“I have my connections.” Levi narrowed his eyes slyly.

“Wait a minute..” Eren stared at Levi for a moment before his eyes widened. “Are you implying that you know him??”

Levi raised an eyebrow at Eren for not figuring out that _he_ was Humanity's Strongest, despite all the hints he'd been dropping. “I guess you could say that.”

Eren's mouth fell open. “What's he like?”

“He's.. different.”

“Come on, give me more information than that!”

“ _You already know more about him than his other fans,_ ” Levi mumbled under his breath.

“Pardon?” Eren said, unable to hear his comment.

“Nothing.” Levi stood from the piano bench and made his way out of the room with Eren trailing behind him, begging for information on Humanity's Strongest.

When Levi didn't spill, Eren pouted. “Fine, if you don't want to tell me, then don't. I'm going to join Survey Inc. and I'll meet him. I swear I will.”

Levi turned away from what he was doing at the moment – which was making tea – and asked, “Why do you want to meet him so badly?”

Eren's face turned into that of a serious expression. “I don't really know. I just feel.. I feel like he needs a hug. I don't know why, but in his books, it just seems like he had a rough start to life. Whether it be the way he writes or the stories he tells, I don't know at all. I swear, when I find out who he is, I'm going to give him a hug and tell him that it's okay.”

Levi felt touched by the brat's words. “I'm sure he'd love that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOWDY? Okay, so some of you may have noticed that I've been pumping out the chapters to this fic quicker than I usually have in the past.
> 
> First thing's first. I'm having this huge inspirational uplifting, I guess you could say, ever since I went to AX. (I cosplayed as Levi and it was just awesome!) So I've just been writing and writing a whole bunch recently.
> 
> Another thing. I'm going camping soon, so I decided that I'd try and get as many chapters out as I could before I left on the trip. We're leaving on July 9th and won't come back until the night of July 12th, and I can't bring my laptop to write while I'm there, BUT- I have my iPod so I could try and write some stuff on there if it isn't too bad so I could upload it when I got back, but I don't know.
> 
> We're going to the beach and I hope I maybe get to do a photoshoot while I'm there because cosplay is life.
> 
> So yeah. Oh! And I just added a new pseud to this account. It's called VitalCakesReads. I haven't posted anything on there yet, but I'm sure you can guess what I'm going to be using it for...
> 
> PODFICCING!! (Such a weird word...) You guessed it! I think I'm going to read my own stories first just so I can get into the swing of things.. YAY! I'm super excited about that as well.
> 
> Anyways, thanks for sticking around. I really appreciate the support I get from all of you. :D


	16. Food Pun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “This might sound bananas, but I find you ap-peel-ling.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll apologize before hand for the puns.
> 
> Sorry, but I'm not sorry.

“Eren!” Levi called from where he stood in the kitchen, tying the white apron over his clothing as to prevent any food from getting onto them.

“Yeah!?” Eren shouted back. He was using the restroom at the moment.

“Do you want to eat spaghetti?”

“Sure!” Eren called as he opened the door leading out of the bathroom.

“Do you want meatballs with that, or are you a vegetarian?” Levi stood at the sink, washing his hands. He didn't bother looking back or shouting this time for he had heard the bathroom door open rather loudly. “Also, did you wash your hands?”

Eren rolled his eyes. “Yes, I did wash my hands, _mom_. And I'm game for meatballs.”

“Alright.” Levi dried his hands on a nearby towel, ignoring his comment, and turned around to face Eren. “Make yourself useful and grab a pot from that cupboard,” Levi pointed to a cupboard near the dishwasher, “and boil some water.”

Eren blushed. “Um..”

Levi raised a brow. “What?”

“Okay, well.. The last time I tried to boil water, I almost burned down my kitchen..”

Levi stared at Eren in disbelief. “How can you fail at the easiest step to making spaghetti??”

Eren covered his face in embarrassment. “I'm sorry! The only thing I can ever make successfully is ramen!”

“Ramen?” Levi questioned as Eren removed his hands from where it covered his awfully red face. “Doesn't that require boiling water too?”

Eren rubbed his right arm. “Well.. I have a Keurig, so..”

Levi rubbed his temples. “Of course you do..” He sighed. “It can't be helped. I don't want you making a mess of my kitchen. You can just.. stand there.. and... look pretty.”

Eren smiled and winked. “That's what I'm best at.”

Levi shook his head before shooing Eren away from the cupboards that withheld his pots and pans. He grabbed a large pot and filled it with water before setting it on the stove and setting it to boil.

He moved to his food pantry to get a jar of Prego tomato sauce and spaghetti noodles. Eren stood there, posing with his right hand on his head while his left rested on his jutted out hip, waiting to be noticed by Levi. He was following his orders, after all, standing there and looking pretty.

Eventually, Levi stopped gathering the things he needed and looked at Eren. Eren busted up in a fit of giggles at Levi's confused expression.

“You can stop standing there, you know. Do something productive.”

“So I don't have to stop looking pretty?” Eren teased.

“You'll be pretty no matter what I say, so...” Levi muttered, but this time Eren heard him.

“What was that?” He smiled as he said it. Levi had just called Eren pretty. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, considering he was a guy, but then again, he was gay so did that really matter to him? Nope. Eren didn't give two shits if it was good or bad because he was going to take it in a good way.

“Nothing. Just.. Do something. Don't stare at me.”

Eren nodded and looked around Levi's kitchen. It was fairly large for an apartment kitchen, he noticed, and everything seemed to sparkle. He decided that while Levi made meatballs, he'd just draw him.

“Hey Levi, do you have any copy paper?”

Levi nodded, not taking his eyes off the chunk of meat in his hands as he spoke. “There's some in my desk in my room. 2nd drawer to the right.”

Eren thanked him and left to find the paper. _2_ _nd_ _drawer to the right.._

He opened it and found a pile of neatly stacked blank copy paper underneath a folded sheet of lined notebook paper. Eren moved it out of the way, but his curiosity got the best of him and he opened it to see what it was.

In large handwriting, circled in red: _'DEADLINE: FEBRUARY 28'_

Underneath it was a lot of dates and other listed deadlines that were crossed out in red marker.

Eren had no idea what it meant, but put it back on top of the other papers after he grabbed a few sheets. He skimmed Levi's desk for a pencil to draw with and found one lying next to a notepad that had scribbles of dates as well, but one was circled.

_'Fucker coming over Dec. 2 nd.. finish the damn thing before then'_

Eren honestly had no clue what these scribblings meant, but he didn't really care. He had his drawing materials and Levi was going to start wondering what he was doing in his room and might suspect him of snooping.

As he left Levi's room, he thought about it. Today was November 30th, the last day of the month. Whoever 'fucker' was, they were visiting Levi on Tuesday, as it was Sunday. And the more Eren thought about it, the more he realized that, _school starts back up next week.. Fuck my life._ _Oh well.. Might as well enjoy it while I can._

Eren emerged from the hallway to see Levi still shaping meatballs. He sat down at the nearby dining table and thought about what to draw.

The obvious choice was Levi.

So that's what he did. He started to draw him as Levi made the meatballs into perfect spheres. He started to sketch him from behind, drawing him maybe a little bit more curvy than he actually was, and eventually Eren got bored.

He stood up and went to Levi's fridge, opening it.

“What are you doing, brat?”

Eren looked back to see that Levi wasn't, in fact, looking back at him. “I'm just looking in your fridge. I'm bored.”

Levi hummed in understanding. “Have fun.”

Eren rolled his eyes and looked back into the refrigerator. He opened the vegetable drawer and pulled out a carrot. He smirked and almost burst with laughter. “H.. Hey Levi..”

“What?”

Eren turned around to face him. “It just seems like you don't _carrot_ all.”

Levi stopped what he was doing and jerked his head back to see that he was holding a carrot. “Eren, are you fucking kidding me?”

Eren laughed at his terrible pun. “Sorry not sorry.” He turned back and looked at the contents of Levi's fridge. He noticed a cucumber and almost bust up again. “Levi. I think you're a _cute-cumber_.”

“Eren, shut up. Stop it right now.”

Eren laughed. “No, it's too _egg-celent_ to stop.”

“ _Eren._ ”

“This might sound _bananas_ , but I find you _ap-peel-ling_.”

“Eren..”

“Yes?”

“You're a _peach_ of shit.”

Eren's mouth fell agape. “Levi.. Did you just..?”

“..I don't wanna _taco_ 'bout it. It's _nacho_ problem, after all.” Eren started laughing at Levi's stoic expression while making puns. They were so very terrible, that even Levi cracked a small smile.

“What have you done with the real Levi?” Eren questioned between laughs. “You're an _im-pasta_!” Levi snorted which made Eren laugh even harder, clutching his sides. “Oh my God, it hurts. I can't.. I can't breath!”

“I'm not _jalapeno_ business, Eren, so don't get into mine.”

“Stop it,” Eren breathed. “Stop.. I can't..”

“Now that I think about it, we do make a nice _pear_.”

Eren caught his breath in enough time to make a comment back. “Don't go _bacon_ my heart, then.”

Levi, not missing a single beat, replied with, “I couldn't if I _fried_.”

* * *

 

Their pun war ended with Eren's sides hurting and Levi's face hurting from concealing his smiles. Eren seemed to laugh more when Levi's face was stoic when he broke a pun, so he tried to keep a straight face. It hurt, but damn, was it worth it hearing the brat's laughter.

The two of them ate food in silence. Levi finished first, sitting at the table, staring at Eren as he ate. His head rested on his left hand. Eren seemed to be uncomfortable with his constant staring, so he moved his gaze onto something else. His eyes met the drawing Eren had done earlier before their puns.

He reached out to grab it from across the table. Levi's eye widened slightly at the picture before him. It was a sketch, but the detail put into it was incredible. Levi realized that the drawing was of him, standing at the kitchen counter. The apron strings were tied together in a bow at his mid back, as it had been before.

Eren's picture was highly accurate. When Levi looked back up to him, Eren's face was flushed and he was shoving food in his mouth to hide his embarrassment. “Not bad, kid.”

Eren looked up at Levi. After the time he'd spent with him, he figured out that Levi didn't really give out compliments on a daily basis. Eren felt a sense of pride rush through him. “Thanks.”

“Not bad at all..” Levi's eyes rested on his bottom in the drawing and he opened his mouth. “Thanks for giving me an ass. I _egg-preiciate_ it.”

Eren blushed and covered his face again.

Levi smiled.

 


	17. Swift Hit to the Balls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just read it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smut.
> 
> You're welcome.
> 
> (I didn't edit this chapter one single bit. I apologize for any grammatical/spelling errors. Also, sorry this one's a bit shorter than the others. I've been busy lately. Sorry! I'll try to make the next one longer.)

Eren didn't want to move. He was tired as all fuck and damn it, if he had to move from his comfortable position on Levi's bed, he wouldn't be a happy camper. If Levi had heard Eren's grunts of displeasure, he was ignoring them, for continued to still play with his hair.

“Levi, give it a rest.. 'M tried...” Eren was once again ignored as Levi continued his actions, only he decided that instead of sitting next to him on the floor, straddling him would be a better option. Levi climbed atop him quickly and it was only then that Eren realized he was shirtless.

_When did that happen.._

Levi hummed as he started to play with the collar of Eren's shirt, thin fingers working their way around his body like they owned it. He traced his collarbone for a moment, staring into Eren's eyes and he leaned down, shutting his own before their lips touched.

Eren, on the other hand, had eyes wider than he thought possible. _Levi was kissing him_.

He turned his head to further the kiss, his body aching for more. The shorter raven sitting on him ground his hips down into his pelvis and Eren gasped, granting Levi access to his mouth. His hands trailed across Levi's bare back while Levi's were working with the buttons of his shirt. Eren's hands stopped their venture once he reached the shorter male's ass. He groped him and Levi curled up into the touch as if he were a cat.

Levi broke the kiss and his warmth was temporarily removed from his body. He sat up, wondering where Levi was going. Nowhere, was the answer, as he saw that Levi was stripping himself of the tight skinny jeans and the look he gave Eren sent chills down his spine.

“Eren,” Levi spoke and he rubbed his hands along his chiseled chest. “I want you.”

“Levi...” He breathed.

He would be lying if he said he didn't want to pounce onto him and make love with him right this second.

Levi moved over to where Eren sat on the bed and sat onto his lap, kissing him while removing Eren's flannel all the way. Their sloppy make-out session was short lived, as Levi moved away again, pushing Eren down onto the bed.

His pale hand palmed at Eren's growing erection as his other worked the button and zipper down. Soon enough, Eren's own pants were discarded to the carpet floor and Levi climbed back on top of him, fingers wrapping around the waistband of his boxer briefs. They tugged teasingly as Levi stared at Eren's eyes without a single word escaping his mouth. Eren couldn't help but think he looked incredibly sexy at the moment, but then again, when did he not?

Eren rolled his hips up in a silent notion to pull the damn things down already.

Levi obliged.

Off the undergarments came and Levi took a moment to stare. Eren looked the other way, a blush capturing his features.

“Not bad,” Levi commented under his breath and any normal human would be offended at his comment but Eren knew Levi. What wasn't considered bad with Levi was something that he liked. _Loved_ , even. It wasn't in his nature to express what he felt. At least, that's what Eren assumed. Levi didn't seem to be the type to give compliments out like there was no tomorrow. Then again, if there was no tomorrow, Levi still wouldn't give compliments in an overflowing amount.

Apparently, Eren had spent too much time thinking of Levi's commenting system for too long for the second time that day because Levi was now nearing his face, lips moving.

“Are you ready?” Eren nodded in anticipation. He had done this before with other guys, but this was different. It was _Levi_.

Levi kissed him again and looked back down at Eren's throbbing length. He smirked. “Already this hard, kid?”

Eren smiled. “How can I not be when someone so _beautiful_ is laying their hands on me?”

That caused Levi to blush and look away for a moment, but his gaze returned back down to his shaft. His thin fingers wrapped around it and started to stroke it slowly, pausing only to position himself so his head was hovering over him.

_He's not gonna.. No way. He's totally not gonna do it._

Levi lowered his head.

_Holy shit. Okay, he's gonna do it._

Eren felt the breath on his cock and it sent waves of pleasure up his spine. A small gasp escaped his mouth and he waited.

A hot pain replaced the expected pleasure.

Eyes shot open, wide at the sudden realization the he had been dreaming. And his balls were on fire. Eren grabbed at his groin in an attempt to stop them from throbbing in pain, only to be horrified at his discovery. Not only had he just been kneed in the balls by the man sleeping next to him, but he was also rock hard.

_FUCK._

Eren rolled off the bed and he gripped his pelvis as tears sprung to his eyes. _Damn, that really fucking hurt.._

He looked up at the shorter man who was sleeping peacefully as if he hadn't just maybe ruined Eren's chance of having children – not that it mattered, he _was_ gay – but still! Eren wanted his balls intact, thank you very much.

And it wasn't exactly helping that he just had a wet dream about Levi that he could _remember_.

Eren tried to recall the last time this had happened – not the last time he had been kneed in the crotch, but the last time he had a wet dream – with any of his past crushes. He would get wet dreams, but they never were so fucking vivid like that one.

Eren groaned, not only in pain, but annoyance.

_Why the fuck did I have a dream like that right now? Espcially since I was sleeping next to him! What would I have done if he woke up and saw this bulge?? DAMN YOU TO HELL, TEENAGE HORMONES._

Eren continued to grope his erection until the pain was nothing but a dull ache but he was still hard as all hell. After that swift hit to his balls, he really didn't feel like beating anything tonight so he thought of things that usually made him cringe.

_Old, wrinkly grandmas in bikinis getting spray tans._

Eren cringed and felt his erection lower as the mood was slowly killed by orange grandmas in bikinis. He sighed as he attempted to sit up from his awkward fetal position on the ground. Eren glanced at Levi, sleeping soundly, before looking at the time.

It was roughly 6 AM, give or take a few minutes.

He wondered when the fuck Levi had managed to lure himself to the bed and get some rest. He does have insomnia, after all. Eren smiled, forgeting about the entire knee to the balls situation as he watched Levi sleep. It sounded creepy, but screw it. Levi looked adorable. His hair as disheveled and his furrowed brows weren't so furrowed, and damn.

It made up for the pain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI. So I know I just went camping and all but guess what?
> 
> I'M GOING CAMPING AGAIN! WOOO! You guessed it.
> 
> And it's not really a short camping trip either. We leave this Saturday and we'll be gone for 2 weeks this time. It's gonna be really fun, but I also want to write and SORRY THAT THIS TOOK FOREVER TO UPDATE!! I've been busy with summer homework for my honor's class and yada yada. That's still no excuse to not post. While I'm camping, I think I will write so I won't get that far behind but HOLY CRAP YOU GUYS.
> 
> This story has 2500 hits and almost 150 kudos.
> 
> WHOA. That's awesome. Thanks for the continued support and I hope you're enjoying it so far!


	18. Christmas Shopping Done Right

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What if he just got everyone chocolate? Wait, what if someone was allergic to chocolate? Fuck, this was harder than he thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M BACK AND BETTER THAN EVER. Yup yup.

“I'll see you later, Levi!” Eren called out, waving at Levi who stood there, a blank expression on his face. He smiled widely at the stoic man and shut the door.

Levi rolled his eyes and shook his head at Eren's loud exit. He retreated to his room to continue typing the oh-so-amazing part of the book where the main character, whom still isn't named, is running from the female titan type with his squad in the forest of big-ass trees.

His phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Levi? I'm just calling to remind you that I am coming over tomorrow to check your progess,” the man on the other line, Erwin, said. “Hanji won't be accompanying me due to some office work she needs to finish.”

“Got it.”

“See you then.” Levi could hear the smile in his voice.

“Yeah.” He hung up and sighed deeply, rubbing his face. Levi glanced at his computer, deciding he might as well finish what he could in a day.

* * *

 

Eren, not wanting to walk home, hailed a taxi and arrived at his humble abode shortly after. He opened the door, not entirely expecting what he saw on the couch. There seated next to Mikasa was Annie. They paused their conversation when they realized Eren was now standing in the doorway.

Eren, feeling like he was interrupting something, spoke up. “Um, I just came back to tell Mikasa that uh..”

_Think of something!!_

“I'm going to go... pick up the car from the shop! Yeah! See you later Mikasa!” He stammered out. Eren turned around before the two girls could say anything and left them to be.

Before going out, he checked the mail box to see if anyone decided to send anything to him or Mikasa. Inside there was a single letter and Eren knew automatically who it was from. This time it was addressed from somewhere in China.

Eren opened the letter and saw a card. The front read, _'Merry Christmas'_. He rolled his eyes and opened it. Inside was a check for quite a large sum of money - $7000 even. It was more than he'd ever received from his dad ever. Apparently, he was making quite the dough.

He decided he'd tell Mikasa after he deposited it because his inner senses were telling himself that if he were to go in there again, he'd _really_ be interrupting something.

Eren cringed, trying to not think about the things they could be doing on his favorite spot on the couch.

He headed toward the car shop, which wasn't too horribly far from his house. Considering he dropped off the car sometime last week, it should be ready by now.

Eren got to the shop, smiling when he saw Hannes, the man who owned it. He claimed to have known his family and that it was 'so good to see him.' Eren, on the other hand, couldn't recall a thing about someone named Hannes, so he just went along with it. After all, he was the one fixing his car, so why not try and get on his good side?

When he went to pay Hannes for the work he had done on his car, the man straight up declined the money. He said something about how he owed his father something and that this was the least he could do to make up that debt.

Eren didn't bother to question it. He grabbed the car keys and thanked Hannes again, getting into his fixed car.

“I'll never let this happen to you ever again,” he said, rubbing the dashboard. “The ones who did that to you can rot in hell.”

Eren started the car and drove off of the lot. When he was halfway home, he looked at the car radio only to find that the time was incorrect. There was no way in hell it was 3:17. No way.

He sneaked a peek at his phone, seeing that the time read 1:34PM. That was more like it. Underneath that, Eren got a look at the date.

It was December 1st.

…

December. That meant Christmas would be coming up soon.

He decided that maybe he shouldn't go back right now. Not only was Annie still there with Mikasa, but Christmas shopping was beckoning him to turn around and go to the mall. So that's what he did. Eren made a U-turn when the light turned green and he went to the mall to go Christmas shopping.

He parked next to a motorcycle which made him think of Levi.

Eren would have to get him something. He pondered for a moment if Levi would get him anything, but shook his head. It didn't matter. Levi was a busy man who probably doesn't even have enough time to think of himself.

Either way, he was _totally_ gonna give Levi something.

So if he was going to give all his friends something for Christmas, that meant he'd have to get something for.. Well..

There's Mikasa, Armin, Jean (bleh), Marco, Connie, Sasha, Annie, Reiner, Bertoldt, Krista (Historia?), and Ymir.

And Levi.

Altogether, he was going to give 12 people presents.

_Well, it's the thought that counts, anyway._

Eren walked into the mall, thinking of what he'd get everyone. Something small, but something meaningful to them?

What if he just got everyone chocolate? Wait, what if someone was allergic to chocolate? Fuck, this was harder than he thought.

Eren made a mental list in his head of what he'd get everyone as he observed the mall.

 

Armin: a book – _He likes reading, so why not?_

Mikasa: jewelry – _Not super complicated. Slim band bracelet. She'll wear it. I think.._

Jean: horse mask – _He's a fucking horse._

Marco: watch – _It's better than my gift to him last year. Totally wasn't a half-off coupon for Wall-Mart._

Connie: grow your own head of hair kit – _You know, the thing you put in water and it grows like 6 sizes?_

Sasha: food – _She'll appreciate that._

Annie: iTunes gift card – _Always listening to music. 15 bucks can buy her more._

Reiner: Starbucks gift card – _I know he's secretly a white girl._

Bertoldt: chocolate – _I've heard more than once that he likes chocolate. 3 large Hershey bars will do._

Krista: branches jewelry tree – _She has tons of necklaces and bracelets so might as well._

Ymir: Chipotle gift card – _She's always talking about going on a date with Krista here, so.._

And then there was Levi..

What would he get him? What does he even like?

_It wouldn't hurt to ask him_.

Eren pulled out his phone. He figured texting would just take more time, so he called him. It rang 3 times before he answered.

“What's up?” Eren asked.

“Gas prices. What do you need?”

Eren laughed a bit at his response. “Um.. So.. How should I put this?” Levi waited on the other line for him to say what he wanted to. “Okay, so what do you like to do?”

“Why?”

“Just.. what do you like to do, Levi?”

Levi sighed. “You're strange. I like cleaning.”

“Really?”

“Yes. And if you're buying me cleaning supplies, make sure they're lemon scented.”

_Well, I guess that explains why Levi's apartment always smelled like lemons._

“Got it. Is there anything else you like to do?”

Levi was silent for a moment. “Cooking.” Eren stifled a laugh. “What?”

“Nothing.. It's just..” Levi waited for him to elaborate. “You sound like a house wife.”

Eren could hear the unamused expression in his voice. “Fuck you. I'm not like a house wife at all. So what if I like cleaning and cooking? That doesn't mean shit, you little-”

Eren laughed at the defensiveness in Levi's tone. “I'm sorry,” he apologized, still chuckling.

“Like hell you are.”

“You're right, I'm not.” Eren could tell Levi was rolling his eyes on the other line and it brought a smirk to his features.

“Well.. Is that all you called for? I'm in the middle of something right now so I need to get going soon.”

“Yeah, yeah. If I need anything else I'll just text you.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

“Bye Levi.”

“Goodbye, Eren.”

Eren smiled, even though he had no clue as to what he would get Levi. He would figure it out later. After all, he _did_ have the rest of the month.


	19. Just Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We're just friends, I swear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not foreshadowing anything. Heh..

A knock at the door of Levi's apartment brought him out of his daze, staring at the drawing Eren had left sitting on his dinning table a few days ago. He would be lying if he said he wasn't admiring the ass Eren drew on him. He'd also be full of shit if he said he didn't try to see in the mirror if he really did have such a curvy figure.

Another knock on the door brought him out of his thoughts of the drawing and Levi moved to the door, knowing all too well who would be behind it. His hand rested on the doorknob, swallowing.

_Don't make this fucking awkward._

He opened the door and saw Erwin standing there, smiles and all. Levi let him in, watching as he took off his shoes – an unspoken rule whenever one were to enter his apartment. Levi shut the door as Erwin moved to their usual meeting spot at his table. Erwin set down his black messenger bag next to his chair, studying the clean kitchen with his smile still present on his face.

“I'll go get my laptop..” Levi said as he left the kitchen and retreated to his room to get the HP from where it sat on his desk. Next to it had been the little note he wrote himself when Erwin told him he'd be coming over today.

December 2nd.

Levi inwardly groaned as he realized this meant his birthday was coming up and Hanji would probably throw him a 'surprise' birthday party again. The thing is that it wasn't really a surprise, considering the last 4 years, she's been throwing him 'surprise' parties on the 25th. They weren't really parties though, because honestly, if someone is throwing a party, they're going to invite more than just themselves and one other friend, excluding the birthday boy.

He shook his head, remembering what happened during the last party she threw. It was held at some restaurant in the city that he couldn't quite remember the name of. He was enjoying an evening alone in his house, thanking the heavens that Hanji hadn't tried to take him zip-lining when someone knocked at the door. He reluctantly got up to see who it was and low and behold, Erwin stood there with his shitty smile.

Long story short, Erwin had convinced him there was something so very important that he had to interrupt his quiet time alone for him to see. He had even managed to blindfold him. At this point in time, Levi had figured out that he was being taken to a 'surprise' party because for one, it _was_ his birthday, and _two_ , he was blindfolded.

Kinda gave it away.

Levi grabbed his laptop, telling himself that he's not going to fall for any of their little tricks they might try to lay upon him this year. He wasn't going to answer the door for anyone. Not even Eren.

…

_Okay, maybe Eren. But he probably won't even show up to my door, considering it would be Christmas Day. He'd want to spend that with people that he cares about._

Levi sighed as he walked back into the kitchen to see Erwin sitting there, staring at that damn drawing that he had forgotten to put away. He smirked at Levi when he sat down across from him. “Who drew this?”

Levi opened his laptop, not looking at him as he replied. “Eren.”

Erwin wiggled his eyebrows. “On a first name basis, huh?”

“Shut up.” Levi felt his face heat up slightly. “We're just friends.”

Erwin rolled his eyes. “ _Right_.”

Levi glanced over at him, eye twitching in annoyance. He grabbed his tea cup, sipping the still warm Earl Grey and slid the laptop over to Erwin once he opened the document.

Erwin read through the story as Levi browsed his social media feed. On Twitter, he decided to post something about his story being almost complete. _At least in his eyes it almost was._ He moved on to Tumblr, where he saw the only thing in his feed was Eren's art. Eren had posted 3 new things since the last time he checked.

The most recent one was a short sentence.

_'Sometimes I wish I had wings so I could fly away from my troubles.'_

He had gotten over 5,000 notes on it.

Wow.

The next thing was a drawing of a humming bird at a feeder.

He scrolled down and almost spit out his tea at what he saw. There was a sketch of himself, his hands tied above his head to what looked like a bed post. He was shirtless and his cheeks were covered in red streaks to what he assumed was a blush.

Levi's own face blushed as he looked over the picture again, his eyes wide.

He read what it said underneath the incriminating drawing.

_'Is is bad that I drew this thinking of someone I know? Is it bad that it probably looks exactly like him?'_

He was trying to tell himself that, _Yes, this is terrible. It is_ absolutely terrible _that Eren drew this thinking of you._

But what he was actually thinking is that he wouldn't mind being tied to a bed for Eren and only Eren and _whoa Levi. What am I thinking??_

He set his phone down rather loudly and covered his face, resting his head on the table. Erwin looked over at him with a confused expression. He reached over and grabbed Levi's phone, looking at what Levi had seen. He studied the drawing and laughed at Levi's reaction.

Levi turned his head to the side to glance at Erwin who was laughing lightheartedly and saw his phone resting next to him. He groaned and sat back up, taking his phone back into his possession.

“Just friends?” He asked, smiling widely at Levi.

“Shut the fuck up.”

* * *

 

“I fucking hate Mario Kart,” Eren said as he got 2nd place to Mikasa yet _again_.

“Language,” Armin said, laughing.

“Sorry. But this stupid game is just.. UGH.” Eren, unable to find words for his frustration without using a swear word, sighed and handed the Wii remote to Armin. “Your turn since neither of us can beat Mikasa.”

Mikasa stared at them like she was innocent in this but the last lap Eren did, he was in first the entire time. He was about to reach the finish line, being overly excited about finally being able to beat Mikasa when he saw the signal for the blue shell. It crashed into him right as he was about to reach the finish the final lap and he saw Mikasa's character – fucking _Rosalina –_ pass him up and he got 2nd place for the fourth time.

He moved to sit down out of the way of the TV and pulled out his phone, going to Vine to watch pointless 7 second videos. Eren laughed at a few before he exited out of the app, thinking of what else he could do to pass the time until Armin inevitably lost to Mikasa.

Suddenly, he remembered what had happened yesterday.

“Hey, Mikasa...” He started slowly.

“What?” She asked, focusing on keeping her 1st place streak.

“So um.. Question. What's up with you and Annie?”

Mikasa spared Eren a small glance as she crossed the finish line the last time, ahead of everyone by an entire two laps. “We're just friends.”

“Really?” Eren raised an eyebrow, not believing it.

“Yes. Annie would tell you the same thing.”

Eren pursed his lips into a duck face. “Liar.”

Mikasa rolled her eyes and sat back as Armin continued to play the game, finishing in 3rd place. “Stupid Bowser and his stupid red shell...” Eren laughed at Armin's statement and shook his head. He was really glad he had friends like these.

* * *

 

His face still laying on the table, surely still flushed red from the picture he saw on Eren's blog, Levi sat with Erwin, who was reading his story.

Erwin broke the silence. “I think you should split this into two parts.” Levi raised his head at that, staring at Erwin's calculating gaze. “Two books, at least. I know the contract you have is for one book but you could easily turn this into a series.”

Levi yawned. “Where would I split it up? I mean, everything flows together. There's no real place I could separate the parts.”

“Leave it at a cliffhanger. A well done cliffhanger, making the readers beg for more.” Erwin smiled, scrolling up the page and to the part where he thought Levi should split the book up. He turned the laptop so it faced Levi. The shorter male sat up in his chair and looked at where Erwin had highlighted the words with his cursor. Levi raised a thin brow at him. “Read it aloud. It sounds better that way.”

“...Okay?” Levi cleared his throat. “ _[Name]'s eyes widened when he awoke from his dream, though it was all rea_ _l._ _Every last bit of it. Trost.. The broken wall.. The titans.. He gazed around the room, only to find he was chained to the wall atop a bed._ _He rested in what looked to be a cellar, iron bars separating him from the two men in the room with him.  
_ _'_ _H_ _ey. Answer up you piece of shit.'_ _[Name] met the gaze of the man who was addressing him. He recognized who it was almost instantly. The Captain of the Survey Corps leaned against the wall, a bored expression on his face. Next to him sat Commander Irvin. 'What do you want to do?'  
_ _The teen's body shook as a strong urge to do what he desired most overcame him. He drew a few shaky breaths before answering. 'I want to join the Survey Corps and kill every titan alive!'_ ” Levi raised his eyebrow at Erwin.

“End it somewhere around there, just make sure it has a cliffhanger.”

Levi nodded. “Makes my work easier.”

“I've added a few notes into your work while you were busy having your face buried in your hands. Please review over them before you continue.” Erwin checked his watch. “It's about time I should be leaving. I have some other work to take care of. Good luck, Levi.”

Levi rolled his eyes and said his goodbyes, hearing the satisfying click of the door shutting, leaving him in solitude. All he had to do was finish up the next few chapters, and _bam_. He'd have two books complete.

How hard could it be?


	20. Brat to the Rescue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren frowned. “Did you guys check to see if the door was locked?”

Eren was sitting around, drawing on his Calculus homework that he had just finished. It was Friday and school was, unfortunately, back in session.

December 6th. _Can't Christmas break be here already?_

His phone was called from an unknown number. He picked it up, having nothing else to really do. Might as well tell the people on the other line that he didn't want solar panels.

“Hello? Is this the famous Eren I always hear Levi talking about?” The voice was that of a woman's. She sounded happy and too excited for her own good. “I'm Hanji Zoe, Levi might have called me 'Shitty Glasses' or something along those lines if he ever mentioned me.”

Eren thought at about it. Levi _had_ mentioned a 'Shitty Glasses' before. “Yes, this is him.”

“Aww! You sound _adorable!!_ ” She laughed and Eren waited for her to finish. “Okay, so Eren. I have a little problem on my hands...”

“Wait, Miss Hanji..” Eren said, brows furrowing in confusion. “How did you get my number?”

Hanji started to laugh even harder than before. “Oh, Eren. A couple of days ago I was scrolling through Levi's text messages and I saw someone with the name of Brat. This is weird because Levi only has two contacts in his phone – that'd be me and Erwin, but that's not the point. _Anyways-”_

“Wait wait... His contact name for me is _Brat_?”

Hanji paused for a moment. “Yeah. At least when I last looked at it.” Eren sighed. He honestly _wasn't_ surprised. “I decided to call you because I mean, you and Levi are obviously close; he talks about you like... non-stop. So Erwin and I are standing outside of his apartment right now and he won't answer the door. Do you think you can help us?”

“He won't answer? Why?”

“Erwin – he's his editor, just so you know – called him and he wouldn't answer so he texted him. Levi's the type that usually gets back to us no matter what, even if he doesn't want to talk. He usually responds like shut up or go eff yourself, you know? Therefore we know he's alive and well. _Buuuuuut,_ since he isn't answering his calls, either he was murdered by someone or-”

Eren zoned out, not bothering to listen to Hanji anymore. Levi wasn't responding to his texts and calls? “I'll be over soon.” He glanced at the time on his phone as he hung up on Hanji's rambling self. It was 4:37pm.

Eren walked out of his room and into the living room, where Annie and Mikasa sat 'studying' on the couch. “Just friends, huh?” He asked, pursing his lips and squinting at them.

Mikasa looked up. “Yep. Where you going?”

“Levi's.” Mikasa narrowed her eyes slightly. “It's an emergency.”

“Alright. Be back soon,” she said, glancing at Annie.

“Mikasa, it's Friday. Tomorrow's Saturday. This is total sleepover time.” She rolled her eyes. “You guys don't get too frisky having the entire day to yourselves, okay?” Eren winked at them and Mikasa's face turned a light shade of red.

_Right, 'just friends'._

* * *

 

Eren quickly got into his car and drove to Levi's apartment building. He parked next to his motorcycle and ran up to the front doors, locking his car in the process. Eren moved to the elevator, hitting the button rather frantically. He stood there, tapping his foot for a few seconds before he decided it was taking _too damn long_ because Eren booked it for the stairs.

He ran up the stairs, skipping a step every now and then. No one else was on the staircase, thank God, or he'd have trampled everyone. Eren eventually reached the 5th floor, breathing heavily. He speed walked down the hall and saw two figures standing near Levi's door.

He recognized the female – Hanji – as the woman who was with Levi in the Starbucks all those days ago. She saw him and smiled, waving.

“You're exactly how Levi described you.”

Eren greeted her and then turned to the other person with her. He assumed it was the Erwin character Hanji had mentioned on the phone. He was tall, blonde, and had huge eyebrows.

For an odd reason, Eren didn't like him. He got a weird vibe off him.

“It's nice to finally meet you in person, Eren. I'm Erwin Smith.” He stuck out his hand.

Eren shook it despite the feeling he got from him. “Yeah. Nice to meet you too.”

“Alright. So problem. Levi won't answer his phone or his apartment door. Maybe if you try, he'll answer?” She said.

_I doubt it.._

“Sure, it's worth a shot.”

Eren took out his phone and dialed Levi's number, hoping he'd pick up.

It went to voice mail.

He sighed, shaking his head at the two. Eren moved toward the door, knocking. “Levi?” He called out. “It's me, Eren.”

Nothing.

“Levi? Please answer.”

His phone buzzed in his pocket. Eren frantically pulled out his phone, seeing that it was a text from Levi.

Eren frowned. “Did you guys check to see if the door was locked?”

Hanji nodded. “It's been locked the entire-”

Eren opened the door with ease, staring at them with an unimpressed face. He slipped inside, locking the door behind him. If Levi had locked out Hanji and Erwin, then he obviously didn't want to see them for some reason.

“Levi?”

No response.

He texted Hanji's number and told her he could handle this and they might as well go home. She responded with a 'k' and Eren put away his phone, taking in the apartment's state. It wasn't sparkly clean like usual. Instead, a thick layer of dust was caked over every surface, indicating Levi hadn't been up and about lately.

Eren walked into the hallway, pausing to glance into the piano room. It was dusty as well. On top of the piano was a picture frame, something that wasn't there the last time he was here. Curiosity got the best of him, and Eren entered the room. He picked up the picture frame from where it sat on the piano. The picture looked to be taken by the red haired girl who was giving the camera a thumbs up. She had beautiful eyes, an indescribable blue-green like his own. To the right of the picture was a blonde fellow who was smiling widely and wasn't looking at the camera.

In the center was Levi. Eren had to do a double take because in this picture, it looked as if he was laughing. No, he _was_ laughing. Levi was smiling and had his hands wrapped around his stomach, making it seem like it hurt so badly.

Eren smiled at the picture and flipped it over. The was messing writing on the back of the frame.

 _Merry Birthday Levi!_  
_I know you hate your smile but hopefully this will change your mind. :D_  
_AND DON'T THROW IT AWAY.  
_ _-Isabel & Farlan_

“Merry birthday?” He mumbled to himself.

_Maybe it was an inside joke or-_

_Maybe his birthday was on Christmas? Nah. That's unlikely. Note to self – ask Levi when his birthday is._

Eren set the frame back down where he found it and moved toward Levi's bedroom door. It was shut.

_Here goes nothing._

Eren opened the door and saw no one at first. After taking in the room for a minute or two, Eren called out to Levi. “Levi? Are you in here?” Eren waited for a moment, listening for any sign of Levi's presence. He looked at Levi's bed and _what the.._

There was a large lump of blanket in one area. Eren poked it. It shuffled.

“Levi?” He called.

Eren heard a groan.

“Levi, please come out. Your friends are worried about you. I'm worried about you.”

Another groan.

_Fuck it._

Eren slowly started to pull back the covers when he felt his phone buzz.

He frowned. “Stop acting like a child and come out already.”

Eren waited for a few moments. He saw Levi's hands come out the top of the blankets and grab onto it. The blankets were lowered enough so Levi could successfully glare at Eren with his-

“Holy shit Levi! Are you okay??” Eren said, looking into his eyes. Underneath them, however were horribly dark eye bags. Levi pat the bed beside him as if to motion Eren to sit down next to him. Eren complied and sat down, watching as Levi slowly scooted his head to rest onto his lap. Eren blushed and looked away, subconsciously playing with Levi's soft hair.

They stayed like that for a good ten minutes before Eren looked down at Levi. He was staring at his face the entire time. Eren smiled at him and Levi blinked, sitting up. His hair was adorably messy and Levi looked back over at Eren, scooting to sit next to him, their legs touching. He rested his head on Eren's shoulder.

“Um.. Levi?” Eren spoke, ruining the moment and Levi lifted his head off him.

“What?”

“Why were you..” Eren trailed off, not sure if he wanted to actually say anything. “Never mind.”

Levi grabbed Eren's arm and he looked toward him, unsure about why he did that. Surprisingly, Levi released his arm and hugged him. Eren, caught off guard, hugged him back and smiled, enjoying the moment while it lasted.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI. It seems like forever since I've updated this. O.O
> 
> School sucks.
> 
> Anyways, this one's a bit longer than the rest I think and so uh.. Yep. Hopefully you liked it and hopefully I won't be as bombarded with homework so I can get these done and post more often.
> 
> Yep. Have a great day! Thank you for reading and commenting - it really makes my day.


	21. Netflix and Chill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Turn around! Turn around, he's right there!! HE'S GONNA KILL YOU!! HURRY UP AND – AHH, FUCK!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY. New chapter. YAY. I apologize for any grammar or spelling errors I might have made. I was rushing to get this out for y'all. Anyways, enjoy!

“Hey Levi?” Levi let out a soft hum signaling Eren to continue. “So.. If I can ask-”

“May.” Levi shifted in Eren's arms so he could speak.

Eren paused. “What?”

“It's may, not can.”

He rolled his eyes. _When did Levi become a grammar nazi?_ Eren thought back to when he would text Levi. _Oh, right._ “Okay, sorry. If I may ask, why are you holing yourself up in your apartment?"

It was quiet for a few moments until Levi let go of Eren, ending their hug. He lowered his gaze to the floor. “I can't think.”

Eren, confused as all hell, continued his inquiry. “You.. can't think?”

“I can't.”

Eren smirked. “Are you sure that you _can't_? I mean, it might be that you _may not_.” He held his arms up and wiggled his eyebrows, suggesting that the joke he made of the words they shared two minutes ago was funny. Levi stared at Eren, unamused. He sighed. “I thought that was pretty good.”

“Eren, I'm being serious here.” Levi stood up from where he sat next to him and opened up his computer. “This is probably the shittiest day ever.”

Eren came to stand next to him, watching as Levi typed in his password. “Why?”

The computer logged on and Eren noticed that it was already open to a word document. Levi narrowed his eyes at the screen. “That blinking fucking cursor is mocking me.”

Eren nodded slowly, taking in what Levi was saying. “So.. You're an author, right?” Levi figured he might as well tell Eren that, _yeah, I'm an author and not a fucking poet._ He nodded in response to his question. “Oh, that's awesome! I wish I could come up with creative things to write about...” He pursed his lips. “Then again, I'd probably write the worst story in the world due to my bad grammar. I'd need you there to fix it for me!” Eren laughed.

Levi frowned. “My works are absolute shit.”

Eren rolled his eyes. “Doubt it. Remember when you showed me what you were writing like.. _waaaay_ back when we met?”

“Yeah? What about it?”

“Well..” Eren cleared his throat. “I still remember what you wrote and let me tell you, that was fucking _amazing_. You have a gift for writing.. Actually, now that I think about it, you were like this back then too.” Eren put his left arm around Levi's shoulder. “I think you need to be more positive. Believe in yourself.”

Levi scoffed. “You sound like a cat poster.”

“Hey, I _will_ buy you a cat poster if need be.”

Levi relaxed and sat down at his desk. “I don't need a cat poster. Thanks for the suggestion though.”

Eren winked at him. “Anytime! Also..” He scratched the back of his neck. “Can I- _May_ I stay over?”

Levi shook his head, closing his eyes. “Yeah, sure. Just do me a favor and stop saying may. It sounds too proper for you. Only fucking Erwin says that..” He trailed off, readying his hands over the keyboard. To his surprise, the words began to flow.

* * *

 

Eren sat in the living room alone, leaving Levi to type in peace. He told Eren could make himself at home and watch TV or Netflix, which he gladly accepted the offer of. Eren wrapped himself in a blanket he found folded on the couch and browsed through the movie selection. There was a wide variety of movies including romance, action, and comedy. Of course, the horror section caught Eren's eye.

As he scrolled through, he saw a movie titled '[The Strangers.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbqELQHpmQM)' Shrugging, he hit play and the movie started.

* * *

 

“Turn around! Turn around, he's right there!! HE'S GONNA KILL YOU!! HURRY UP AND – AHH, FUCK!” Eren fell off the couch the 3rd time that night due to a jump scare.

He paused the movie, rubbing his face in his hands, sighing. “ _Ohhh_ my giddy fucking grandma, I hate my life.”

“What the hell are you doing Eren?” Eren looked up to see Levi holding a tea cup in his hand – well, fingertips. “This is the 5th time I've heard you scream bloody murder. The walls in here aren't soundproof. Go scream in the piano room – I had those reinforced a while ago.”

Eren scratched his arm. “Yeah, sorry. This movie is just.. freaking me out.”

“What movie?” Levi moved to sit on the couch, crossing his legs when he finally plopped down.

“Oh.. A horror movie called The Strangers. Ever seen it?”

“No...” Levi sipped his tea as he observed the paused screen. “She's dead. He's right fucking behind her with an axe.”

“I know right? She's totally dead.” Eren replied, getting off of the floor and sitting next to him. He removed the blanket from him and wrapped it around both of them, forcing Levi to scoot closer to him. Their thighs touched.

Eren pressed play and they indulged themselves in a movie marathon.

Somewhere in the middle of Disney's Beauty and the Beast, Levi got up to use the restroom, leaving Eren alone. They had just gotten to the part where Belle and Beast were singing together.

_I feel like Levi just got up so he didn't have to listen to anymore singing._

Eren skipped through the song, not really wanting to hear it either. He paused it and waited for Levi to return. He came back a few seconds after the room was completely silent. “The singing's over already?”

Eren laughed. _As I suspected._ “I just fast-forwarded through it. I didn't want to listen to the singing either.”

Levi nodded and came to sit back down next to him. They continued to watch the movie and eventually it faded into the background. Eren glanced at Levi non-stop, watching his grey eyes as they blinked, his pink lips as his tongue would sometimes sweep across them.

Their eyes met, and Levi licked his lips again. Closer, their faces came together. Levi hesitated for a moment, unsure if right now was the best time to do something like this.

_Fuck it._

Levi leaned in fast, their lips meeting for the first time. It was a soft and delicate kiss. Eren tilted his head to deepen the kiss, progressing forward to push Levi down onto the couch. Levi wrapped his arms around Eren's neck, opening his mouth to allow Eren access.

It turned into a slow and passionate make out session. The movie played behind on, both of them paying no mind as the colors flashed onto their forms in the dark room.

At some point, they had stopped and Levi ended up falling asleep on Eren's lap. The movie now over, Eren decided it would be best to get the insomniac somewhere he could rest more peacefully.

Eren lifted the smaller man off the couch – who was surprisingly heavier than he looked. He somehow made it to Levi's bedroom without dropping him, laying the raven down. The room was dark, with the exception of the blinking white light coming from Levi's idle computer. Eren went over to it and wiggled the mouse.

The screen lit up, blue filling the room. He figured he might as well shut off the laptop for him.

Eren, having learned Levi's password earlier, typed in the code.

_izzNfarNlev_

It was a weird code, and Eren was surprised he managed to get the capital letters correct, considering how fast Levi had typed it in.

The computer logged on and the first thing he saw was Levi's background. It was of three people sitting in front of a sunset. It was only their figures, so Eren couldn't exactly tell who was in the photo, but it looked beautiful nonetheless.

Eren was about to shut off the computer when he noticed there was a program open. He clicked on it, just wanting to close it so he could fall asleep already. And he would have, too, if it weren't for the fact that he was seriously curious about what Levi had been writing about.

He skimmed through it briefly, glancing back the sleeping form on the bed to make sure he wouldn't be caught snooping.

_Why does Levi think this is bad..? This is fucking amazing!_

Eren saved it and thought he closed the file, but he it turns out he only closed the current document he was reading. He was brought to list of a hundred other documents. Eren couldn't stop himself before he clicked one labeled 'TACE.'

_What in the world does that mean? TACE? Does it stand for something?_

Eren started to read it, the story starting off with the word 'Summary.'

_'_ __If there was anything Nathan wanted, it was his parents._ _'_ _

__Well.. This sounds oddly familiar._ _

__'_ _But of course, he couldn't have them. At the age of 7, they died in a horrific accident. A car collision, his Uncle had told him._ _'_ _

__..Wait a minute.._ _

Eren continued to read the summary, quickening his reading pace to finish the summary faster.

 _ _'_ _They died in a car accident coming home from a trip to Nathan's Grandmother's house. Seeing that he no longer had anyone whom he could trust, Nathan was left at his Uncle's house. While living there, he meets the two most interesting kids on the planet, but when disaster strikes again, will Nathan be able to handle the emotional trauma?__ '

_Holy. Shit._

Eren looked back over to Levi, who was sleeping peacefully on his bed.

_This is Through a Child's Eyes, by Humanity's Strongest. And it's on Levi's computer. And it has the entire book on here.._

Eren gaped at Levi's sleeping form, coming to the conclusion that Levi is the man he'd been spending his time admiring. The all time famous author, Humanity's Strongest, is the man whom he'd been crushing on since their small encounter at Starbucks!

Levi, _the man whom he just made out with on the couch_ , was Humanity's Strongest??

_Holy fuck._

To say the least, Eren was surprised as all hell.


	22. Tea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You should smile more often.”
> 
> Levi punched him.

Levi, who had gotten up before Eren, sat in his piano room, staring at the picture encased inside of the wooden frame. He caressed the old wood, remembering how it looked when he first received the photograph.

The picture was taken by Isabel, who had just gotten a new camera. She was ecstatic about it, Levi remembers, and wouldn't stop taking pictures of the three of them together. At the time the precious moment was captured, Farlan had told him and Isabel about something stupid he'd gone and done when he was younger.

Levi stared at the youthful version of himself, cringing at how different he was now. In the picture, he'd only been around 15, maybe 16. The angsty teenager version of himself had ear piercings, a lip piercing – thank God he wasn't wearing it in the photo – and wore black eyeliner.

“Oh hey Levi.” Eren's voice echoed inside of the room as he entered it. He came to stand next to Levi, observing the picture as well. “You should smile more often.”

Levi punched him.

* * *

 

“Hey, so.. I was thinking. Do you wanna do something today?” Eren said as he browsed his Tumblr feed.

“Like what?” Levi sat at the dining table across from Eren.

“Umm.. Ice skating?” He suggested.

Levi released a puff of air in his form of laughter. “Sure. Just let me shower. I feel like shit.”

Eren nodded absentmindedly, continuing to stare at the picture that he had drawn of Levi a few days back. Levi left the room and Eren immediately lost his cool. He stood up and paced around the room. _Shit shit shit. If Levi's Humanity's Strongest, then that means he's seen the things I've fucking drawn of him. HOLY FUCK. Unless.. Maybe he hasn't seen them yet??_

Eren held onto the small sliver of hope that Levi hadn't seen the picture yet.

The water turned on and Eren sighed, knowing that he should have never posted those and just kept them to himself for his own guilty pleasure.

Sure, Eren might have some weird-ass kinks that he has yet to discover, but bondage? The only reason he drew that was because..

 _Levi looked hot as fuck in it._ _But that doesn't mean I want to do that in real life!_ Eren sat in denial as he listened to the water run. _I need to get Levi off of my mind._ He continued to listen to the water until his mind drifted to waterfalls. _They're beautiful and powerful. Every droplet of water falling off the edge of a mountain, creating a spectacular view for those around it._

It seemed to be working. For the most part.

_Water droplets, formulating and running down.._

_Running down Levi's bare back, and onto his round-_

Eren shook his head frantically, trying to _not_ think of Levi naked with water droplets running down his back and into the crevice of his ass.

….

_Fuck._

The water turned off, finally ending Eren's imaginative thinking of Levi's nude body. He sat there, waiting for Levi to come back into the kitchen so he could explain what he wants to do with him.

_No, not like that._

Levi came into the room and holy Mother Teresa on the hood of a Mercedes Benz, he was shirtless. He wore a white towel around his neck and black jeans. Eren stared at him and his muscular form.

“So ice skating, yeah?” Levi asked, drying his hair with the towel.

Eren avoided eye contact with him. “Yeah...”

He stared at his abs, the glorious 6 pack. A drop of water ran down his torso, then another. Levi nodded and turned around, exposing his bare back to him.

Eren felt something stir in his pants and he blushed, closing his eyes. “ORANGE GRANDMAS!!” He yelled out, causing Levi to pause in his current action of opening the cupboard to grab some tea.

He turned back to Eren, raising a brow, only to find the brunette had his head down on the table. Levi rolled his eyes and continued to fill his kettle with water and put it on the stove to boil.

As he turned on the flame of one of the four burners, Levi felt hands slither around his waist. “Are we just going to pretend like last night didn't happen?”

Levi furrowed his brows and lowered his head at the thought of last night. He blushed lightly, biting his lip ever so slightly. “Who said that?”

Eren hummed and nipped on his ear. Levi let out a small gasp of surprise that had a little more voice to it than he wanted. It cast both of them silent. Levi frowned, flustered.

“Get off me, you brat.” Levi slapped his hands away after a few seconds. “Just because we made out on the couch last night doesn't mean you can go around groping my-”

Eren interrupted him with a chaste peck on the lips. When he pulled away, he winked at him and smiled widely.

Levi sighed, rubbing his left temple. “You're a shitty brat, Eren.”

Eren laughed. “At least I'm _your_ shitty brat.”

Levi groaned, shaking his head. “I can't deal with you right now. I'm going to put on a shirt.” He left the kitchen to do as he said he would.

Eren grew bored and stood from his chair. He stared at the stove, watching as the kettle slowly warmed. Curiously, he opened the cupboard that Levi had reached for to see what kind of tea he likes. Who knows? Maybe Eren could buy Levi tea for Christmas.

_Apparently black tea is the only thing this man drinks.._

… _._

_Who am I kidding? I can't buy Levi tea for Christmas! That's so lame. No.. I need to come up with something original that he'd totally love._

Eren shut the cupboard and checked the time on his phone. It was 9:20am. Levi came back into the room with a shirt on, much to Eren's disappointment. Levi got out the necessary ingredients to make his Earl Grey and turned off the stove. He poured the steaming liquid into a teacup while Eren watched like a hawk, admiring the delicacy of his hands.

Levi placed the tea bag into the cup and let it sit for a moment before grabbing a spoon from a drawer to stir with. Eventually Levi sat down and grabbed the rim of the cup with his fingertips, clutching onto it skillfully.

Eren watched as Levi did it, highly amused in the way he tilted the cup, allowing the boiling tea to reach close enough to his mouth so he could sip on it efficiently.

“I want to draw you like that..” Eren blurted, not knowing exactly what he was saying at the moment. Levi raised a brow, still continuing to drink his tea.

He moved it away from his lips. “What do you mean?”

“Oh. _Shit,_ I said that out loud, didn't I?” Eren scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. “It's just.. so intriguing how you hold your cup. I want to draw you doing that.”

“Do what you want.” Levi responded simply, shutting his eyes and enjoying a long sip from his tea.

Eren perked up. “Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Sorry, it's just.. So fascinating _,_ you know?”

Levi opened his eyes for a moment to look at Eren. “Why? I'm just drinking tea. How the hell could _that_ be fascinating?”

“It's the way you hold your cups. You could hold it by the handle, but you choose to grab the brim instead. It just seems so sophisticated.. Is there any particular reason as to why you do that?”

Levi cleared his throat. “I might get around to telling you some day. Right now, we should get going.”

Eren nodded.


	23. Soo..... This is a Date, Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For some reason I didn't finish this chapter until today, a literal month later. I'm sorry! FORGIVE ME!!!!

”It's a lot colder in here than I imagined,” Levi said, wearing a light sweater. He cursed himself for not wearing a heavier jacket.

Eren stood up, wearing the old blue rental skates. “Wanna wear my jacket?” He offered, a smile present on his face.

Levi's face heated up and it wasn't just from the coldness of the room. The thought of wearing Eren's jacket.. He frowned, starting to walk toward the sliding doors that led to the rink. “I'll be fine.”

Eren shrugged and sped up so he could catch up with him. “If you say so.”

Levi walked up to the ice, standing near the entrance. Truth was, he'd never been ice skating before. Eren went past him and slid onto the ice easily like he'd done it many times before. He turned toward Levi and extended a hand to him. “You coming?”

Levi stared at the ice. _It's now or never._

He grabbed Eren's hand and stepped onto the ice with Eren's help. Levi stood on the ice, managing to keep his balance. He let go of Eren's hand and tried to move on his own. Eren smiled as he watched Levi move around and turn back to him. “I think I got the hang of-” He was cut off by a child skating backwards into him. The kid fell over and glanced up at Levi.

Levi stared at him and kid flipped him off, got up, and continued to skate.

Eren watched as Levi's face went from surprised to angry. He glanced over at him, mouth slightly ajar. “Did you just see that?” Eren laughed and nodded. “That little brat's only like.. 7!” He said looking over to the child. “What kind of manners are those?”

Eren shrugged and looped his arm around Levi's. They skated together like that, making small talk and listening to the music the Ice Station had decided to play. There weren't many other couples on the ice.

“Hey Levi,” Eren asked, as they made yet another loop around the rink. He stopped and Levi turned back to him, stopping as well.

“What?” He asked, shoving his cold hands in his pockets.

Eren scratched the back of his neck. “Well, would you consider this a.. date?” He asked, looking into his eyes.

Levi raised a brow. “You don't?”

Eren smiled and skated closer to him. “Well, I was just wondering what you were thinking because I do.”

He nodded and put his arms around Eren's torso, underneath his jacket. “My hands are fucking cold,” he said, staring up at him. His nose and cheeks were red. “So are my lips.”

Eren smirked. “Do you want me to warm them for you?” He leaned down and kissed him on the lips. Levi smiled into the kiss and wrapped his arms around Eren's neck. He felt Eren's hands slither down to his waist and Levi was sincerely enjoying the moment.

“ _Hey Eren!”_ Someone called out, causing Eren to pull away, leaving Levi cold once more. He sighed and turned toward whoever had decided to ruin that perfect moment. “Stop kissing your boyfriend and say hello!”

Levi thought about it. They weren't really considered boyfriends because they hadn't made it official. Yet. He looked up at Eren's face. “Who's he?” He looked over to the person who had called out Eren's name.

Eren frowned slightly. “Jean,” he said simply. “He's here with another one of my friends, Marco.”

Levi noticed another boy standing next to Jean. He had freckles and black hair. “Is that Marco?” Levi asked, nodding his head toward the freckled kid. Eren nodded. He took Eren's hand in his own, intertwining their fingers. Eren shot Levi a weird look when he did it. “What?”

Eren smiled. “Nothing.” He squeezed Levi's fingers with happiness and looked back over to Jean and Marco who were now nearing them. “So, why are you two here?”

Jean smirked. “Just taking my babe out on a date,” he said, wrapping an arm around Marco's shoulder as he blushed.

“So you finally grew a pair and just asked?” Eren teased.

Jean scoffed. “I can tell you finally did the same,” he said, turning to face Levi. “Is this the famous person you're always talking about?”

Levi raised a brow and looked at Eren who's face was red with embarrassment. Levi smirked slightly and hugged him, stepping up on the toe picks of his skates to reach up and peck him on the lips. Eren looked down at him and smiled. “Yeah, we're on a date right now, so if you'll excuse us.”

Eren pulled Levi along on his skates and had an arm wrapped around his waist. He smiled softly and leaned onto Eren's arm as they skated along. “So.. what do we do now?” He asked Eren.

“Uhh.. Well.. Let's play 20 questions.”

“20 Questions?” Levi shook his head slightly. “Okay, you go first.”

Eren nodded and stopped skating around, thinking of a question. “Alright.. Do you like waffles?”

Levi raised a brow. “What kind of fucking question is that?”

Eren shrugged. “I don't know,” he laughed. “I don't know what to ask you!!”

Levi chuckled and rolled his eyes. “Fine, I'll go then.” He pondered on a question he could ask Eren to get to know him better. “Hmm.. Okay... If you could have any superpower, what would it be?”

“Teleportation!” He said without a second thought. “I would totally teleport everywhere and I wouldn't need a car. It would save so much gas money, Levi.”

He tilted his head. “So you don't want x-ray vision or invisibility like everyone else?”

Eren shook his head. “No. Hell no.” He smiled. “Okay, my turn..” Eren looked up at the ceiling in thought. “Can you speak another language?”

“Oui, je parle fançais.”

He gave Levi a confused expression. “What?”

“Yes, I speak French,” Levi repeated in English.

“ _Ohhhhh,_ that's awesome! I can only speak English and a little bit of Span-glish.” Eren smiled. “Do you come from France or whatever?”

“I was born in New York but my family's French. My turn. Are you a virgin?” Levi asked it bluntly, curious. He assumed Eren wasn't from all of the drawings on his Tumblr that were NSFW.

“Uhh...” Eren blushed.

“It's fine if you are. I'm not, though, just so you know.” Levi thought he should let Eren know this before they got into a relationship or whatever _this_ was.

“I'm not, actually.” He said with a sheepish smile. Levi simply nodded. “So.. My turn, right?”

“Yep.” Levi squeezed his hand and began to skate around Eren in a circle, bored.

Eren laughed at Levi's adorable actions before asking his question. “Will you be my boyfriend?”

Levi paused his 5th circle around Eren to look at him. He stared into his eyes. “You're being serious?”

“Y-yeah..!” Eren scratched the back of his neck. “I just thought that since we've known each other for a while now and we're on a date-” Levi cut him off, tackling him onto the ice. Eren landed with Levi on top of him.

Levi's face was inches from him own. He smiled. “Okay,” he said. “I'll be your boyfriend.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt like there was a bunch of dialogue this chapter but ehhhh.... BUT HEY LOOK, IT'S THE MOMENT YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR. Please forgive any grammar or spelling errors. This is unbeta-ed and I wrote it really late at night. I'll go back and edit it in the morning. ;)


	24. Sexual Education with Levi and Eren

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pop goes the weasel..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I. Am. Sorry. I haven't posted in.. two months, it seems. AHH, FORGIVE ME. I apologize for my lack of posting. :( 
> 
> Well.. Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving unless you didn't celebrate, then I hope you had a great November 26th..
> 
> And happy Hannukah, happy Kwanzaa, merry Christmas, happy holidays.

“So now what?” Eren asked as he held tightly onto Levi's hand underneath the table of the cafe they sat in. They had just finished their little ice skating adventure together.

“What do you mean?” Levi replied, holding the cup of tea in his right hand. He took a sip while Eren stared at the way his fingers curled around the cup.

Eren shrugged. “Well, we're... together, y'know? So what do you wanna do?” He repeated as he continued to watch the delicate way Levi held the teacup.

“I don't know. What do _you_ wanna do?”

“..I'm not sure, that's why I asked you.” An awkward silence pursued that last statement and Eren looked away in deep thought. _What to do, what to do._. Eren pursed his lips slightly and glanced back at the shorter male. He opened his mouth to speak but Levi beat him to it.

“Let's get to know each other better.” He pulled out his phone as he said it and set the cup down. Much to Eren's dismay, Levi let go of his hand from under the table as he typed away at his phone. “I googled 'questions to ask your boyfriend' because I'm not good at coming up with them myself. First question.” Levi made eye contact with Eren and sat up taller, recrossing his legs. “What was your first impression of me?”

“Ohh. Um..” Eren smiled sheepishly, remembering when he had first seen Levi in the Starbucks coffee shop. “Well.. I thought you looked tired. And intimidating.. But very attractive nonetheless.” Eren nodded with satisfaction in his answer. “What about you?”

“I thought you were a brat for staring at me,” he answered honestly. “But then we started talking and I realized,” Levi looked at him blankly. “that I thought correctly.”

Eren laughed. He'd grown used to being called a brat by now. “Okay.. Can I ask a question now?”

“Go ahead.” Levi took a sip of his tea.

“What's your favorite feature of me?” Eren inquired curiously.

“Your eyes.” Levi flicked his gaze to meet the beautiful orbs. “Definitely your eyes. They're gorgeously vibrant.”

Eren blushed and grabbed his arm, rubbing it with embarrassment. “You're just saying that..” he trailed off and averted his gaze.

Levi put his teacup down and reached from across the table to grab Eren's chin so he would meet his eyes. “I'm not. I'm being completely serious, Eren.” They looked into each other's eyes before slowly coming together and kissing. Both of their eyes shut as their lips pressed together, only for a few seconds. Levi pulled away and nodded. “But yeah.. Your eyes are fucking beautiful.”

Eren's blush didn't fade away. “So.. Can I ask another question or do you wanna go..?”

“Go ahead.” Levi shifted in his seat to get more comfortable.

“It's random..” Eren started. “Okay, so.. If we were to ever break up, could we still be friends?”

Levi thought on it for a moment. “..I don't see why not.”

Eren smiled. “Okay, cool.. Your turn.”

Levi thought about what he could ask Eren. He took a few sips of tea before setting the cup down on the table. “Can you give me a mock session of how you would discuss sexual education to a child?”

Eren tilted his head and raised a brow. “Okay?” He laughed before clearing his throat. “Alright, son. It's time you had _the talk_.” He stifled a chuckle. “When a mommy and daddy love each other so very much, they do the frick frackles 'n shit. And then pop goes the weasel, a baby appears.” Eren busted up and began to laugh uncontrollably, gathering quite a bit of attention from some people sitting nearby.

“Shhh..” Levi cracked a smile. “You're so loud...” He chuckled softly.

“I-I'm sorry, I can't...” Eren said between large intakes of breath. “God..” He wiped away the tears and sighed after his outburst.

“Damn, you're the cutest fucking thing.” Levi reached over the table and grabbed his hand, a blank expression on his face.

“What about you? What would you say?” Eren asked as he intertwined their fingers.

“When a mommy and a daddy are ready to have a baby,” Levi starts, “Daddy puts his penis inside mommy's vagina.” He deadpanned.

Eren laughed at the absolute lack of shits given with that statement, gaining more attention that before. “That was.. so straightforward!!” he said between laughs.

“What? Did you want me to beat around the bush? No, if they ask, I'm going to be honest.” Levi took a sip of his tea and Eren had to release his grip on Levi's hand to wipe away the tears again.

* * *

 

“Eren, get out of my damn chair.” Levi repeated for the fourth time.

“No, it's too comfortable!” he protested, spinning around in the swivel chair in Levi's room. Eren was once more, spending the night at Levi's apartment and the chair was the equivalent of heaven's clouds. “I'm not moving.” He stuck his tongue out at Levi.

Levi rolled his eyes. “Fine.” He sat down onto Eren's lap. “Scoot closer to the desk and lower the chair.”

Eren, blushing, did exactly that. He watched as Levi logged into his laptop. That background with the three silhouettes came into view and Eren couldn't help but ask. “Who are they, Levi?” He slithered his hands around his boyfriend's waist and looked at the picture.

“That's me,” he points to the figure on the far right. “And that's Isabel,” the figure in the middle, “and that's Farlan. They were my friends back in high school.” Levi said, leaving no room for further questioning based on his tone of voice.

Eren didn't push any further. “So, are you going to write your words of wisdom now, Mr. Author?” He asked, looking at the left side of Levi's face.

“Tch,” he scoffed. “They're not 'wise.' Just a fictional piece I've been working on for a while now.” He cleared his throat and opened the document.

Eren stared at the blinking cursor on the page and he was reminded that, hey. Levi, your boyfriend/person of obsession lately also happens to be your favorite author. Eren heard him beginning to type rapidly and Eren knew it would be wrong to interrupt such a personal time with an author and their piece of work. To stop writing for even the fraction of a second ideas could be lost. Eren knew this feeling all too well when someone asked him what he was drawing and therefore couldn't end up remembering himself.

Eren left Levi in peace to write as he slowly drifted off while sitting in the chair, Levi still awake and typing.

 


	25. Christmas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry. ;-; I am ashamed of how long this took to update. Really.
> 
> Either way, enjoy!

Exchanging presents, Eren realized, was not as fun as he expected. The last day of finals (fina-fucking-ly), Eren had met up with their group and gave each teen their presents, to which he got gift cards in return.

$200 in Starbucks gift cards was pretty cool.

With Christmas right around the corner, Eren knew what he wanted to do for Levi's present. He went home after his last final, which was Calculus, and got everything together, totally ready to give Levi the best gift of his life.

Not.

Eren, the world's finest procrastinator, had waited the last fucking moment for some sort of idea to pop up in his mind of what to get Levi. Why was it so hard?? But then, oh... The best present popped up into his mind.

His body! Of course!

Eren was joking when he thought of that, but surprisingly, he had thought of something that 5'3 angry man would love! Maybe... Hopefully. He threw together a few things at first, and ended up with.. Well..

A painting.

Sure, it might seem cliché as all hell to give the person you like/love a painting or some sort of picture with something memorable beneath the paint. Eren, however, was determined to paint something Levi liked, or could hang up on the wall..

But then something else came to mind. Eren thought that a painting might come off too strong, like he was expecting something that Levi had spent forever on to make, so Eren took the time to think again.

Which resulted him in a week to get Levi something special.

* * *

 

Eren spent the morning of Christmas Day with Mikasa and Armin, just spending time with each other. “I'm going to spend the rest of the day with Levi,” he said when the clock struck 12pm.

Mikasa narrowed her eyes slightly. “You can invite him over, you know..”

“He's not a people person, in case you haven't noticed.. Anyway, I'll be over at his place and I'm probably going to sleep over.” Eren grabbed his bag that he had packed the night before, filled with clothing and any hygienic items he might need, along with the last present underneath the tree that looked like a fucking T-Rex had wrapped it. “Oh, also, Levi's kind of my boyfriend now-”

“WHAT?” Mikasa exclaimed rather loudly.

“so I'm just going to leave now.” Eren smiled. “Merry Christmas!” He tossed a candy cane to Armin.

“EREN JAEGER, GET YOUR ASS BACK IN HERE THIS INSTANT AND EXPLAIN WHY THE HELL YOU DECIDED TO KEEP THIS A SECRET UNTIL NOW!!!” Mikasa was ranting and raving when Eren shut the door behind him, hopping in his car to get to Levi's place, happy as could be.

* * *

 

The only reason Levi opened the door to his apartment at 4am was because he was expecting to see a certain cheeky brat the day of December 25th. Instead, two nuisances took his place. Hanji brought party poppers that one would use on the Fourth of July or New Year's Day which she popped off the side of his balcony..

“Why are you guys here again?” Levi asked, the obvious bag underneath his eyes growing a deeper purple as he sipped on the caffeinated tea, hoping that would wake him up.

“It's your birthday, stupid! And we already lost 4 hours!!” Hanji replied, and handed him a wrapped present. “Open!!”

Levi blinked a few times tiredly as he ripped the wrapping paper off the oddly-shaped-object. “What in the fuck is this?” He asked, holding up a.. sock puppet?

“It's you! I made it myself.” She smiled. “Do you like it?”

Levi stared at her blankly for a moment, wondering when he'd ever use something like this. “I love it,” he replied, setting it down. Hanji seemed happy by his response.

Erwin set down a box on Levi's table. It was wrapped perfectly, as he expected from Erwin. Levi started to unwrap the gift and Erwin stifled a chuckle. “What? Why are you la-” Levi shut up the moment he saw what the gift was. “Oh my.. Fucking hell, Erwin.”

It was a karaoke machine, something Levi definitely didn't need. “It comes in more than 250 languages.”

Levi rolled his eyes because that's exactly what it said on the box. “Right.. Thanks for the gifts. If you look under the tree there's something for you two..” He gestured to the mini-synthetic Christmas tree in his living room while he threw away the wrapping paper.

Hanji was ecstatic. She power-walked over and grabbed the one that had her name on it and handed Erwin's his. “Oh.. You got Eren something?”

“Of course I did,” Levi replied as he sat down on his couch. He crossed his legs and took a sip of his tea. “He's my boyfriend, after all.”

Hanji and Erwin stared at Levi. “Erwin..” Hanji started. “I told you, didn't I?”

“You did.” He pulled out his wallet and handed her a five dollar bill to which she pocketed.

Levi rose a brow but neither of them bothered to elaborate. Hanji started to unwrap her gift and she smiled widely when she saw what it was. “You know me well, Levi.” It was a sweater that said, 'Me, crazy? I'll show you crazy when I get down off this unicorn and slap you silly.'

“Almost too well...” he mumbled, sipping on his tea.

Erwin looked at his finely wrapped gift and opened it carefully. Inside was a t-shirt that read, 'Employee of the Month' and in much smaller font underneath, 'Runner Up.'

“Levi.. You find the weirdest things for us every year.” Erwin examined the shirt as he spoke, finding that he was happy, despite the somewhat cruel message on it.

“This year's theme was clothing items,” he said simply. “But I still can't believe you got me a legitimate karaoke machine. When am I ever going to fucking use it?”

“Today!” Hanji exclaimed.

“I can't sing,” Levi protested weakly.

“LIAR!!” Hanji yelled again, then realized that it was still very early in the morning and people in other apartments were trying to sleep. “Heh.. Oops.”

* * *

 

_'In other news today, the same gang group who have been calling themselves the “AHSS” have stepped up recently in their acts of crime. Bashing up cars and tagging walls have now turned into breaking into stores, stealing, and leaving death threats. Now, back to the weather with David.'_

_'Thank you Catherine. It seems to look pretty clear this Christmas Day down in Shiganshina, but chances of rain are high. Trost may get a few inches snow later in the evening. Stohess-'_

Eren flipped to a different radio station as he drove to Levi's apartment with a smile on his face and the present in his passenger's seat. It didn't take long for Eren to arrive at Levi's building and to go inside.

He held the gift close to his body, unsure if Levi would like it or not. As the elevator's numbers increased, Eren began to get nervous...

What if Levi didn't like it? What if he threw it on the ground and broke it??

WHAT IF-

He took a deep breath through his nose and walked out of the elevator after it stopped to Levi's room. Eren knocked twice on the door, waiting.

The short man answered. Eren smiled upon seeing his face. “Hello beautiful.” Eren leaned in and kissed Levi on the lips before stepping in. He caught the faint blush on the pale man's cheeks as he shut the door. “This is for you..” Eren held out the horribly wrapped gift to Levi.. At least he tried, right?

Levi let out a short breath through his nose in a form of laughter when he saw the gift. “Thank you... Yours is under the tree.”

Eren looked to said tree, smiling when he saw the gift, obviously wrapped much better than he'd done Levi's. “Yaaay... Uh, so.. Sorry about the crappy wrapping job... I'm not good at it, as you can tell.”

Levi shrugged, sitting on the couch. “I think it add character to you. It shows that you're-”

“Yeah, okay, Mr. Author. You don't have to lecture me on character development.” Eren sat on the floor near the tree like a little child, pulling his gift over to him. “Can I go first?” Levi nodded in reply and Eren began to open the present.

Inside was a very, very nice set of drawing pencils, a fairly expensive sketchbook, and prismacolor pencils.

“Holy. Shit.” He smiled widely as he looked at them. “I.. This is...” Eren stood up and walked over to him, hugging Levi where he sat. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“I have another thing, but decided it would be your birthday present instead..” He trailed off, then looked down at his gift. Eren motioned for him to open it. Levi did.

Inside was a.. a ceramic tea cup that Eren had made and painted himself. “You can drink out of it.. I made sure to glaze it with non-posionous stuff so you could. I mean, you don't have to. It's just a cup, right? I mean, you probably don't even like it, who am I kidding? So you can just-”

Levi shut him up with a kiss on the lips. “I love it. Thank you.”

Eren's face heated up and he smiled, nodding. “You're welcome, Levi.”


	26. Happy New Year

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let the sky fall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [This](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZWwH1NJsKs) inspired the chapter.

New Year’s Eve was a day Levi didn’t exactly care much for. People got drunk and made ‘New Year's Resolutions’ that they never end up keeping. A few weeks into January, and most people’s goals were already failed and ruined; trampled on the ground like a rose.

Those like Eren, however, who were determined to obtain their goal for the year, or correct a bad habit, inspired Levi. He found their drive to succeed highly contagious and thus, he too, became determined.

“Leeeeevvviiii~~” Eren called from where he sat, a wild smirk plastered across his face. “Levi, come over here.”

He walked over from where he’d been talking to Mikasa – Levi was at Eren’s house for a change. “What is it?” Levi questioned.

“How do you turn this on?” Eren gestured to the brand new karaoke machine that Erwin had gotten him.

“No clue. You’re the one that wanted to bring it, remember?” Levi sat beside him. “Did you read the instructions?” He took hold of the papers that directed them how to set up the microphones.

Eren looked at Levi, then to the paper he held in his hands. “No, I didn’t...” He sheepishly smiled at Levi who then helped him continue with setting up the karaoke.

Mikasa observed from afar. The Jaeger-Ackerman household had decided to throw a party much like Reiner had for Thanksgiving. Their entire friend’s group was there, plus their friend’s friends. Something like a hundred or so people were in Eren and Mikasa’s house.

“They seem to be good for each other.” Ymir commented to Armin. “How old is he again?” She referred to Levi.

“He turned 25 on Christmas.” Armin smiled, happy for Eren.

Ymir’s eyes widened slightly. “And he’s _that_ short? He doesn’t look a day older than 19.”

Krista looked at Ymir. “He _does_ look pretty young..” She murmured, holding onto her lover’s arm.

Armin nodded. Reiner came up from behind. “But damn, he’s got muscle.. I’d still beat him in an arm wrestle, though.”

Jean sneered. “Bet you can’t.”

Reiner crossed his arms. “There’s no way such a short man can beat _me_ in an arm wrestling match.”

“Dude, you cant even beat Mikasa,” Jean stated with a sly grin on his face.

Eren overheard, a smirk coming to his lips. “Hey Levi..” He said in a low tone.

Levi had heard their gossips as well, for he knew what Eren was thinking before he even said anything. “You want me arm wrestle him?” He asked. Eren nodded, ecstatic. Levi sighed softly and stood up.

“Hey Levi,” Jean said, leaning against the wall of his house. “Reiner here wants to arm wrestle you.”

Levi flicked his bored gaze to the tall blonde. “Fine,” he said and walked into the dining room where the table was. It seemed everyone followed them as Levi took a seat across from Reiner.

Reiner smirked cockily as he set his hand out for Levi to take. Levi did so, having to somewhat lean over the table to get a better angle. “Ready?” He asked.

“Are you?” Levi replied blankly.

Reiner narrowed his eyes. “One.. Two.. Three!”

It was a flash before everyone’s eyes. Levi had swiftly put Reiner’s arm down faster than anyone could say titan.

The bang of Reiner’s arm against the table silenced the crowd. “Ow..” Reiner mumbled, releasing his hand from Levi’s.

Eren came by and kissed Levi on the cheek. “That’s my babe for you..” He said loud enough for everyone to hear. Levi turned his head to peck Eren on the lips.

* * *

 

“I wanna go first!” Eren exclaimed once they had _finally_ gotten the karaoke up and running. He quickly selected his song from the songbook and punched in the number for the song. “Alright.. okay...” He talked to himself, ready to show off his absolutely _amazing_ singing voice.

Eren cleared his throat as Levi rolled his eyes at the song Eren chose.

The first line came around..

“Oh, I... I JUST DIED IN YOUR ARMS TONIGHT.” Eren sang obnoxiously loud into the mic. “It must have been something you said! I just died in your arms tonight~”

Levi found it adorable as all hell when Eren sang, regardless of his voice or not. It was just so.. _cute._..

And before he knew it, the song was over. That hadn’t taken long. It showed Eren’s score, which was a 54. The words underneath said, ‘Try Harder Next Time.’

“WHAT?” Eren said, angry at the karaoke machine. “That’s bullshit!”

“You suck at singing, Jaeger. Deal with it.” Jean said with a laugh.

“Oh yeah? I doubt you’d be any better!” That shut Jean up pretty quickly. Eren turned to his babe. “You wanna sing something?” Eren offered, holding the mic to Levi.

He shook his head. “No, I don’t sing.” Especially not in front of a bunch of high-schoolers.

“Aww.. Please?” Eren asked, giving Levi a pouty face.

“Maybe later when we’re alone.” His tone was final, and Eren didn’t argue further.

“I’m holding you to that,” Eren teased, handing the mic off to Sasha.

* * *

 

Annie, who had been mostly quiet and on her phone the entire party, decided to step up and sing something, much to Eren’s surprise.

The song, ‘Skyfall,’ popped up on the screen.

“This is the end..” Annie sang, and everyone’s eyes widened – besides Mikasa, who seemed to know about her beautiful singing voice. “Hold your breath and count to ten. Feel the earth move and then... hear my heart burst again.”

Levi tilted his head as he heard the girl singing. She was quite good, if he said so himself.

“For this is the end. I’ve drowned and dreamt this moment... So overdue, I owe them. Swept away, I’m stolen.. Let the sky fall when it crumbles. We will stand tall, face it all together.” Annie hit the notes perfectly. “Let the sky fall, when it crumbles. We will stand tall, face it all.. together, at skyfall, at skyfall.”

* * *

 

“THREE.. TWO.. ONE.... HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

Levi was taken by surprise by the kiss Eren had given him on the lips. His eyes fluttered shut and he kissed back, wrapping his arms around the back of Eren’s neck. He tilted his head just slightly. They pulled away, looking into each other’s eyes. “Happy New Year..” Eren whispered to Levi.

“Happy New Year,” Levi replied, pecking his lips again.

* * *

 

It was about 2am when everyone had eventually filed out of Eren and Mikasa’s home with the exception of Armin, Annie and Levi. “Mikasa, I’m going to spend the night at Levi’s.” Eren said as he yawned, obvious tiredness in his voice.

Mikasa nodded. “Alright.. Be safe you two.” It seemed that Annie and Armin were spending the night, which was okay with Eren since he practically lived at Levi’s apartment now.

“We will be. See you tomorrow-- err.. later today, I guess.” Eren corrected.

“Goodnight,” Levi called to them as Eren took his hand and they walked outside. He intertwined their fingers as they walked to Eren’s car.

Levi got into the passenger’s seat while Eren sat in the driver’s. Eren switched on the radio as he put the car in reverse and began to back out of the driveway.

“Oh, this is the song that Annie sung.” Eren turned up the volume just a bit.

“She’s a damn good singer.” Levi commented, letting out a small yawn of his own.

Eren hummed in agreement. “Yeah, I never would have guessed..” Eren began driving to Levi’s apartment. Halfway through the drive home, Eren stopped at a stop light. He looked to Levi who was staring out the window. Eren slowly reached over and grabbed the older man’s hand. Levi’s gaze flicked over to him as he did so. “It’s a new year, huh?”

“Yeah..” Levi said softly as he intertwined their fingers, holding onto Eren’s hand tightly.

“It.. doesn’t seem all the different, does it?” Eren asked.

Levi shook his head. “Not exactly.. But I do know something that’s definitely going to change.”

Eren glanced his way again. “Yeah?”

“I get to spend an entire new year with my boyfriend.” He squeezed Eren’s hand as he said it.

Eren smiled at Levi’s words and his face heated slightly. His eyes trained on the dark road before him. “So... There’s something I think you should know before we start anything super serious.”

Levi nodded. “Me too, actually.”

Eren watched the lights turn green and took in a deep breath. He began to go forward. “Levi, I-”

It all came too quickly after those two words. Levi’s eyes went wide and Eren couldn’t react fast enough.

A car t-boned them, striking the passenger’s side where Levi sat. The car went skidding across the intersection where it slammed into a street sign. The silver Kia that hit them was absolutely demolished as well. The driver opened the door, looking rather confused about why their car had suddenly stopped.

It took Eren a moment to realize what in the world had just happened. His heart was racing in his ears as he turned to look at Levi and-

“Levi??” He asked, looking at his bloodied and unconscious face. There were multiple gashes from where shattered glass had cut him and his eyebrows weren’t furrowed like they usually seemed to be. Eren reached his arm up and quickly unbuckled himself. He cupped Levi’s face, feeling for a pulse on his neck.

“ _LEVI??”_ He screamed over the sounds of sirens. The sound of his heartbeat was loud in his ears now, pumping faster with each passing second.

* * *

 

“ _Let the sky fall_

_When it crumbles_

_We will stand tall_

_Face it all together_

_At skyfall.”_


	27. Wait

Being in that car accident, Eren decided, was definitely the worst moment of his life. It was worse than the moment he'd found out his mother had passed away.

"Le..Levi..??" Eren said through tears. "Levi, baby?" He gently shook the shorter male, to which he received no reply.

He was pulled from his lover kicking and screaming. "No, no!! I need to know if he's okay!!" Eren screamed as the firemen pulled him away from Levi, who was being put on a stretcher and rushed into the back of an ambulance. There was blood everywhere, he realized.

And most of it wasn't his.

He tore away from their grip and ran as fast as his broken body would allow him. Eren watched, frozen, as Levi was being given CPR.

And the doors shut, rushing Levi off to the hospital without him.

The fat tears that rolled down his cheeks blurred his vision and Eren fell to his knees. For the first time in his life, he was filled with absolute terror. True fear that Levi might die paralyzed him.

Eren was given a lift to the hospital in the other ambulance while the drunk driver that had hit them was arrested. He couldn't stop crying, thinking of the worse situation.

Levi could very much be dead right now because of him.

Eren was checked out once he arrived at the hospital. They stitched up the gashes that needed to be and he was told to wait.

To wait, they said. Wait for Levi to be stable.

And Eren did. He waited, and waited. Somewhere between the three hours of Eren waiting, Mikasa, Annie, and Armin had arrived. They saw him with his face in his hands, crying. Mikasa sat beside him and wrapped her arms around Eren. He hugged her for support, sobbing into her scarf.

After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, a doctor came into the room where he sat with his three friends. The doctor said those words he had been wanting to hear.

"He's stable."

Mikasa, Annie, and Armin left him to privacy with his boyfriend.

Levi was okay, but that didn't stop Eren from crying on his hospital bed sheets. That's what he was doing at the moment. Eren held onto Levi's thankfully warm hand in his own and sobbed into the sheets.

He felt like it was all his fault. If he had been able to swerve out of the way, Levi wouldn't be in this critical condition right now. Eren felt so absolutely horrible about himself.

Part of him screamed that Levi would be better off without him.

And maybe it was right.

A soft grunt from Levi was all it took to make Eren shoot his head up and look at his lover. His face was still beautiful despite the bruising and bandaids plastered on his face. Levi's eyes opened slowly, and Eren sighed in relief.

"Levi.. Levi.." Eren repeated, new tears coming to his eyes as they streamed down his cheeks. "L-Levi... I'm sorry." He hugged the smaller man.

"Eren.." Levi said softly. "Why the hell are you apologizing?"

"It's my fault-"

"Don't you fucking dare blame yourself." Levi cut him off, wrapping his arms around Eren's mid. The crash had left Levi with a broken leg, multiple gashes and bruises over his body, and internal bleeding in his abdomen. They had to go into surgery to keep him from bleeding to death.

But he was okay now.

Eren sniffled and nodded into the blue linen hospital gown Levi was clad in. He didn't trust his voice to speak without wavering.

They sat like that for a while, just holding each other until Eren had calmed down fully. "Eren.." Levi started softly. "What were you going to say?"

Eren looked up at Levi and wiped his face. "I was.. going to say that I know you're.. an author."

Levi tilted his head slightly. "Yeah, I know that you know.." He chuckled softly. "I told you."

"No, what I mean is that.." Eren sighed and hugged Levi. "Nevermind, it's not important." He kissed Levi's cheek. "What's important is that.." Eren began to sniffle. "You're here with me.. And I.. I really.. really, love you." Eren began crying. "You don't have to say it back, I get it. I just wanted to tell you." He managed to say it before the tears flowed out uncontrollably.

Levi lifted his hand to rest on top of Eren's head, fingers moving in his hair. "Don't cry, brat." He stared up at the ceiling. "You're going to make me start.." Levi blinked multiple times to get rid of the tears. He cleared his throat. "Eren, please don't cry." He rubbed Eren's back.

Levi wanted to say it. Those three words.. He wanted to tell Eren so very badly, but the idea of letting someone in again..

He just had to wait a little longer.


	28. Comptine d'un autre été

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi dreams. Eren sleeps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the long wait. Finals have been killing me and they're next week. I'll be done with school soon and hopefully I'll be able to update more often...
> 
> Enjoy.

“ _You’re getting so tall, Rivai!”_ Kuchel, Levi’s mother, said to him once she drew a line on the doorway, marking his new height of 3’4. “One day, you’ll be even taller than me.”

“But mama, you’re so tall,” he said.

“No buts.” Kuchel smiled. “Happy birthday and merry Christmas, baby.”

6-year-old Levi smiled widely and hugged his mom. She laughed, wrapping her arms around him.

“I love you, Rivai. You know that, right?”

“I know.”

“It’s time to open your present, yeah?” She brushed Levi’s long black locks out of his face so she could see his features. Levi nodded, releasing her from his hold. “Okay.. Close your eyes, baby.”

Levi covered his eyes with his hand, closing them tightly.

Kuchel led her son to his gift. “Remember when you went to Uncle Kenny’s?” She stopped him. “Open your eyes.”

He moved his hand away and his blue-grey eyes scanned the room, immediately flocking toward the grand piano.

“Mama..” He looked at her.

“It’s yours, baby.”

He ran up to it, having trouble getting up onto the piano seat, but with the help of his mother, he was able to sit.

Kuchel sat beside Levi. “Do you remember what I taught you?”

He nodded, eager to begin playing the song, Comptine d'un autre été. “Yes, mama.”

“Let’s play together, Rivai.”

Levi sat there and played with his mom, his small hands somehow managing to move in sync with Kuchel. At one point of the short song, Levi looked up at her.

She was pale of face and had long dark hair. Kuchel always looked so beautiful to him whenever she played the piano; focused and passionate.

He became unfocused and slipped up near the ending of the song. “Shit,” he swore.

Kuchel stopped playing altogether and looked at her son. “Where did you hear that?”

Levi looked at her sheepishly. “Kenny,” he answered quickly.

“Don’t use that word, okay?”

“Why not?” he asked, tilting his head. “It’s a word.. I can’t use it?”

“It’s a bad word only bad people use. You don’t want to be a bad person, do you?”

Levi shook his head frantically. “No, mama. I never want to be a bad person, I only want to be with you forever and ever. I don’t want to be no bad person, mama.”

“You’ll never be a bad person, Rivai.” She grabbed his hand, holding onto it tightly. “Promise me, baby.”

“I promise.”

* * *

 

Levi and Kuchel had to go places he didn’t find pleasing, like _The Shelter_. It was always dirty and unsanitary and there, he couldn’t play the piano with his mom. There were other mothers with children like his own mom there too. He would sleep there while his mother worked. The other kids played, but Levi preferred to keep to himself.

That was, until one day, a girl with red hair approached him. Her hair was unruly, and Levi took it upon himself to fix it by putting her hair into two pig tails.

He learned her name was Isabel.

They became good friends. One day, Isabel was crying. She had to leave because her mom was leaving too.

Levi promised they’d meet again.

* * *

 

“Baby,” Kuchel said to Levi one day when they were home, in their small house. He sat at the piano, practicing his part of the melody he came to know as, Rhyme of Another Summer.

“Yes mama?” He was older now, almost 9 years of age.

“Go find a place to hide.”

He looked back at her. Levi knew she wasn’t joking, and based on the hard knocking on the door, this time would take much longer than the others.

“But..”

“No buts,” she said sternly.

Levi nodded and got up quickly, rushing to their shared bedroom. He found a place underneath the bed to hide, using blankets to cover himself.

It was silent for a few moments, and Levi wondered if it was just a false alarm.

He had thought too soon, for yelling could be heard in the other room. Levi heard his own mother’s voice in the clamor of sound, then a loud bang.

Silence followed shortly after the slam of a door.

“Mama..?” Levi whispered quietly to himself.

He quickly moved out from under the bed and stood to his feet, peering out the doorway. “Mama?” Levi called a bit louder this time.

He couldn’t hear anything in reply and panic began to settle in. “Mama?” He shouted, looking around the house.

“Baby?” She replied somewhere in the house.

Levi found her lying beside the couch, just past the doorway with the many markings of his height, 4’2 being the most recent measurement.

“Mama..” he ran up to her when he saw the blood. “Mama, what-what happened?” Levi scanned his eyes over her body, the white shirt she wore stained red. Tears welled up in his eyes and they fell. “We need to get you help..!”

“Rivai,” a sweet motherly voice called out softly. “Rivai, please.. Calm down, baby.” Levi continued to cry despite what she said. “Please, baby..” Her voice was on the verge of breaking.

“I need to get you to a hospital,” he cried, beginning his attempts to try and lift her up off the floor. Levi couldn’t call for help; they didn’t have a phone. “You’re hurt, and-”

“Shhh, baby. It’s okay.” Tears were streaming down her face as she smiled at him. “You need to be strong for mama, baby.”

“But.. you’re bleeding, and..” Kuchel cupped Levi’s face, her pale face already growing paper white by the minute. “Mama?” he asked to make sure she was still there.

“I love you, baby. You’re so smart and funny and talented.” She kissed his forehead. “You’re my baby, Rivai.” Kuchel wiped the tears away from Levi’s eyes with her thumb. “Don’t cry anymore.. Always smile for me, okay?”

“B-but mama-”

“No buts.” She smiled, closing her eyes. “I love you, baby..” she whispered softly. “I love you.”

“I love you too, mama. I love you!” Levi sat there, waiting for a reply.

He got nothing.

* * *

 

Levi sat up groggily. He checked the time on his alarm clock.

2:13AM.

“Perfect,” he muttered.

Levi looked around him, finding Eren laying beside him in his bed, hugging onto his mid. He lifted a hand to his face, under his eye.

It was wet, obviously from tears he’d shed during his sleep.

He moved Eren’s arms off him and stood. Today was February 14th, otherwise known as Valentine’s Day. The car accident of New Year’s Day was just a bad memory now, for Levi’s broken leg and most of his bruises and cuts were healed over the span of the 6 weeks. And now, at 2 in the morning, he was deciding to get up to go to his piano- the very one his mother had gifted to him. Since he’d only gotten his cast off the 12th, he still had a limp, so it was troublesome walking there alone without the use of crutches or Eren’s help.

He made it there and sat at the piano seat.

“Comptine d'un autre été,” Levi whispered the name of the song.

He quietly thanked his younger self for sound proofing these walls, or he’d be getting some ugly complaints from his neighbors.

He started slowly, having to recall what keys to press. Eventually, Levi remembered the entire song and the way his mother played the left-handed basslines while he did the right-handed melody.

Levi didn’t realize he’d begun crying until arms wrapped around him while he played. He stopped to look at Eren, who sat beside him where his mother would usually take the place on the chair.

“Levi..” Eren said, tiredness in his voice. “It’s 2 in the morning, babe.. Why are you awake?” he asked, wiping Levi’s tears away from his cheek with his thumb.

The small action reminded him of his mother. Though his memories with her were rather vague, it was enough to make him sob when he thought of her death.

Levi didn’t answer the question. Rather, he cupped Eren’s face and gently pressed his lips to his.

His mind began to be filled with Eren.

Eren, who was caring and loving to him despite how much of an asshole he could be. Eren, who tried to make him laugh when he was sad. Eren, the adorable 18-year-old brat. Eren, who loved him. Eren, who was there for him.

Eren.

He pulled away after a moment to breathe since doing so through his nose was hard, considering he’d just been crying. Levi hugged Eren, letting the tears fall silently.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Eren asked softly, rubbing Levi’s back.

Levi nodded in his neck, but didn’t budge. “Eren..?” he muttered quietly.

“Hmm?” he hummed, now playing with the short hairs of his undercut.

“I love you.”


	29. We'll Be Fine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> February 14th, Valentine’s Day, was going to be the first time they had sex together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... I'm not dead.
> 
> HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHEEEEHHH.
> 
> New computer means all my writing files are on my old one. Woo. Apologizes for taking like, a damn year to write something. I’m going to probably end this story pretty soon, i.e. this is probably the last chapter. I have a better story that I can’t get out of my mind and because of that, writing anything else has been difficult.
> 
> Not to mention, the chapter was pretty much finished on my other computer and convincing myself to get that one out to transfer files just didn’t seem like an appealing idea, but I eventually dug it up.
> 
> That being said, I kind of rushed to get this done, as I'm not exactly fond of this story anymore. I didn't really edit anything either, so I do apologize for any grammar/spelling mistakes you may come across.

“What?”

“I’m not saying it again.” Levi muttered into the crook of Eren’s neck, still hugging him.

“I just.. I love you too, Levi. A lot.” Eren smiled. He was so happy to hear Levi say it back. “I love you.”

“You’re preaching to the choir...”

“I know.” It was silent for a few minutes until Levi pulled away from Eren. The younger male kissed Levi’s forehead. “You don’t have to talk about it if you really don’t want to.”

Levi shook his head. “No. I think it’s about time you know more about me and my past. You need to know what I’ve done in my life. I don’t want to hold any secrets from you.”

Eren nodded. “I’m ready when you are.”

Levi took a deep breath before he began. “I was born on December 25th, or better known as Christmas, to Kuchel Ackerman, my mom.” He met Eren’s eyes. “She.. she was a prostitute. My dad was one of her clients."

Eren’s eyes widened slightly. “You don’t have to keep-”

“I want to, and I’m going to.” Levi took in a deep breath. “Anyway, we lived in a small shitty house that could barely be considered ours with how often we had to go to homeless shelters. My mom worked in and out of a brothel until we could have the house again. I met Isabel at a homeless shelter, and we later found each other, but that’s not the point here. My mom escaped a brothel before she’d paid off her debt, and someone came after her. They-” Levi stopped there, his fingers clenching into white fists. “She was killed.”

Eren wrapped an arm around Levi. “I’m sorry for what you had to go through, Levi. I really am. I can’t even begin to imagine what you must’ve gone through.”

Levi leaned on Eren. “My uncle took me in after that, and I became obsessed with wanting to get revenge on whoever it was that killed my mom. What stopped me from going on a rampage was what my mom said to me once.” Levi looked up at Eren, eyes red and puffy. “She told me to never become someone bad.” He chuckled spitefully. “I guess I failed her, didn’t I?”

“Who said that?” Eren furrowed his brows. “Levi.. You’re one of the best people I know.”

“You’re just saying that.”

“I’m not. You are amazing.” Eren cupped Levi’s face and made the shorter look at him. “You’re talented and beautiful. I love you for who you are, and you’re anything but bad. You’re wonderful and perfect.” Levi opened his mouth to protest, but Eren continued speaking. “I love you so fucking much, Levi. I love how you hold your cups and how you swear all the time, and how you’re so adorable, and I love your height, your eyes, your mouth-- I love every part of you so much Levi. You’re my everything.” He hugged Levi. “I thought I lost you, and-” Eren took in a shaky breath, tears springing at his eyes. “I was so worried that I was going to lose you that night.”

Levi knew he was referring to New Year’s. “How many times do I need to tell you it wasn’t your fault?”

“Once more, Levi. As always,” Eren said, tears now streaming down his cheeks.

“It wasn’t your fault, and it never will be.” Levi wrapped his arms around him.

“I love you, Levi.”

“I love you too, Eren.”

Eren pulled away and wiped his face, sniffling. “The point is, everything about you is amazingly breathtaking, from your personality, to your beauty, to your writing style-”

“My writing style?” Levi rose a brow.

Eren blinked a few times. “Y.. Yeah. You’re..” He sighed. There was no point in hiding that he knew anymore. “Levi, you’re an author.”

“Yeah, I am. I told you.”

“No. You’re my favorite author, Humanity’s Strongest.” Levi stared at him for a few moments before his eyebrows furrowed, and he pulled away from the hug. “Please don’t be mad with me.”

Levi’s expression was difficult for Eren to read. “..When did you find out?”

“A while back, you were typing, and you fell asleep on me. I was shutting down your computer, and I saw some of your manuscripts.” Eren was quick to explain himself. “I absolutely freaked out when I found out that you were him.”

“So.. You’re only dating me because I’m a successful author?” Levi concluded.

“What? No, no. _Nooo_ , that’s not why I-”

“I was joking."

Eren stared at Levi. “Oh, you were? Sorry, I just wasn’t sure and didn’t want you to think that I’m only dating you because I want to be with a famous author because that’s really stupid. I’d rather be happy with the person I love than be miserable. But that doesn’t mean you make me miserable, you do the exact opposite of that--”

Levi interrupted Eren with a kiss on his lips, and Eren blinked multiple times before he relaxed into the lip lock. His hands slithered about Levi’s waist while the shorter male’s wound up behind his neck. Levi climbed onto Eren’s lap where they sat, now straddling the high-schooler.

Eren’s fingers slipped under the hem of Levi’s shirt as they kissed, Levi eventually opening his mouth to allow Eren’s tongue to meet his. The taste of Levi’s mouth was familiar to him, and at this point Eren could feel himself slowly growing hard in his pants. It seemed Levi too had felt it, because he only ground his hips down into the problem further. Eren pulled Levi’s shirt up and over his head, tossing it onto the floor of the piano room. His fingers skimmed over Levi’s muscular torso, trailing up to his nipples. He twisted and pulled at one, to which Levi released a small gasp against his lips.

Levi removed himself from the kiss, his cheeks rosy.

This was happening, Eren realized.

February 14th, Valentine’s Day, was going to be the first time they had sex together.

Eren smiled at the realization, his heart quickening in pace. “Levi, I really love you.”

“I really love you too, Eren.” Levi hugged him, resting his head against his chest. “I want to..” He understood what Levi was referring to when he trailed off.

“I do too.”

“Then take me, Eren.” Levi met his eyes.

Eren’s heart skipped a beat. “I will.”

* * *

 

Levi couldn’t recall how they’d gotten to the bed. All he bothered to pay attention to was the way Eren touched his body. Their tongues swirled together, turning and curving in sync. Eren’s hand was resting over his crotch, palming him through his briefs. Levi couldn’t even recall stripping his pajama bottoms off his body..

“Shit,” he swore, unable to move his hands since Eren was pinning them above his head. Sure, if he tried a bit harder to struggle, he could move, but Eren didn’t seem like one to give up that easily during something as intimate as this. “Eren..” he whined, skin prickling with heat and want. “Just touch-- aaahh~” Levi was cut off with his own moan. Eren had bit one of his hard nipples, and Levi found it hard to conceal his cries of pleasure.

His briefs only seemed to tighten.

Levi grew anxious. “Eren, just--”

“I’m not going to rush, Levi.” Eren met Levi’s eyes. “Not like how anyone else has with you before.” Levi’s face flushed bright red, and he looked to the wall.

“..Okay.” This was going to be a different experience for him, then. “I trust you, Eren.”

Eren smiled. “I won’t disappoint you, Levi. If ever anything is too much, just tell me.” He slipped his hand into Levi’s underwear and began stroking him, to which Levi gasped.

The older male wasn’t used to being treated so carefully. When he’d ever fucked with someone, it was always hard and rough. There was never any.. _love_ present, he realized. This was what it was like to make love: not just have sex.

Levi felt his eyes stinging, and he struggled against Eren’s hold on his hands above his head in a poor attempt to hide the tears from the younger boy. Eren had begun to tug at the hem of Levi’s briefs to remove them from his body. He was about to kiss Levi again, but instead his eyes went wide with shock. Eren immediately moved his hands away from Levi, afraid he’d done something terribly wrong because Levi was crying.

“L.. Levi? Are you okay?” He asked, concern filling his voice. “Did I do something wrong? I’m sorry--”

Levi sat up and hugged Eren abruptly, burying his face into Eren’s neck. “You..” he sniffled, breath hitching as he continued to cry. He realized that he’d been doing that a lot recently. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Eren.”

“Then.. why are you crying?” Eren asked, confused. Seeing Levi in tears again was enough to make him tear up.

“I love you so much, Eren. That’s why I’m crying.” A fresh wave of tears fell from his face and onto Eren’s bare chest. “You love me too, and I know you’re not lying.”

“I love you Levi. I do,” Eren said, tears falling from his face now.

Levi had never physically felt someone’s love on him before, and now that he was.. It was something beautiful he’d never had the chance of experiencing until now. Eren, young and beautiful Eren, was the one making him feel so warm and fuzzy on the inside. “I want to make love with you,” he said, wiping his tears from his face once he was done crying. Levi’s breath hitched as he met Eren’s eyes.

Eren nodded, sniffling as he too, wiped his tears away. He leaned in to kiss Levi on the mouth, gently pushing him back onto the bed. “Do you have a condom-- or lube?” Eren asked against Levi’s lips.

“..Nightstand,” Levi managed, staring up at the ceiling. He felt his briefs being slowly dragged down his legs, exposing himself fully to Eren. “There should be some in there..”

Levi closed his eyes, taking in a few deep breaths when he felt cold lube and a finger pressing against his entrance. He gasped, trying his best not to writhe when Eren pushed the digit inside and-- it seemed almost instantaneously that he found his prostate.

After a total of three fingers stretching and scissoring him, Levi could hardly bear it. “Eren.. inside,” he whined. “I need you..”

His request was answered not too long after, a slur of words spoken between the two as Eren’s protected erection slipped inside Levi. A hiss of discomfort slipped past Levi’s lips, his breathing becoming uneven. Eren caressed his right flank, the thrust of his hips forward. Pure pleasure jolted up his spine, and he released a low grunt.

Their hot bodies melted into one as they made love. Levi willed himself to lean up, wrapping his arms around Eren’s neck. The raven kissed his neck, leaving small bite marks and hickeys along the young male’s tan skin. He shivered and moaned when Eren hit a particularly sensitive part of him.

“F..uck,” he whined, nails digging into Eren’s back.

Eren only gripped his hips harder as he pounded into Levi relentlessly, directing his thrusts in that spot he’d just discovered. “Levi, I’m close,” he managed to say in his high. Levi nodded, agreeing silently that he too was about to burst from the pleasure.

A few more moments, and Eren could no longer hold himself back. He pistoned his hips until he found release. Levi’s moans reached a new level of loud as he let himself go.

* * *

 

A shower, Levi dictated, was completely necessary for them after what they just did, even though it was still too early to do anything productive in Eren’s eyes. While the two became clean, Eren sighed. He knew he loved Levi, but something was nagging at his mind. Levi picked up on this and asked him what was wrong.

“It’s nothing.” Eren smiled, trying harder to convince himself of this more than Levi.

“Liar. I can see you’re thinking of something.” Levi didn’t have to face him to be able to tell that he wasn’t telling the truth.

Eren looked down at his feet. “I guess there’s no point in trying to hide it then.” He watched the suds from Levi’s body rinse off and onto the bottom of the shower, down into the drain. “I was just thinking of when I go to college,” he began. “And what we’re going to do then. If we’ll even still be together..”

Levi was quiet as he shut off the water. He began to dry himself, almost as if he hadn’t heard the other male at all. Eren began to worry his words had fallen on deaf ears, but Levi interrupted his doubtful thoughts. “We’ll figure something out,” he stated so matter-of-factly that Eren couldn’t help but believe him.

Eren nodded, shoulders relaxing at Levi’s response. “You’re right,” he said with a nod. “We’ll figure something out.”

**The End, motherfuckers.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Expect an epilogue, I guess.


	30. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Siete años despues...
> 
> "Get off the stage already, you idiot."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this elaborates into their future together a bit. Hopefully it's not too cliché, but this was what I was going to lead up to.
> 
> Also, it's short.
> 
> ENJOYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

Seven years later…

Flashing lights almost blind the young adult as he smiles and waves to his fans. The only thing holding the paparazzi back from bombarding him with questions and close up pictures was the guard rails along the red carpet. The shorter man walking beside the bright youth did not look at the people screaming at them. He was staring forward, not stopping to pose for pictures unlike his partner who wanted to pause every two moments.

“Eren,” the raven spoke, having to grab his hand to pull him away from the attention. “Let’s go inside already.”

“One moment!” Eren exclaimed, waving to the crowd again. He pulled Levi close, wrapping his arms about the shorter as he smiled for another picture. Levi appeared to be unfazed as Eren gently pecked the top of his head, earning a few screams from the fangirling people surrounding them. A few more flashes, and Levi broke free, pulling Eren with him.

Levi rushed them to the door, a faint blush on his cheeks. “It’s times like this I ask myself why I said yes,” he mumbled.

“What was that, darling?” the actor asked in response, only hearing half of what his husband had said.

“Nothing.”

The two walked hand-in-hand, passing various famous celebrities as they found their way to their seats. Eren was anxious. It wasn’t his first time being nominated for a role he played in a movie, but it this one was special. He’d had the honor of acting as the main character in the reenactment of one of Levi’s books. A few years ago, Levi had released his identity to the world, as well as the fact that he was engaged to the actor Eren Jaeger. It had come as a surprise to some who “Humanity’s Strongest” was, but it was a mostly positive response.

And now Levi and Eren were married and open about their relationship to the public. Each had kept their last names the same, however, mostly due to their roles in society.

Eren reached over and squeezed Levi’s hand when the name of the movie was mentioned. A few minutes of anticipation, and a name was announced. Eren had won the reward.

Quickly, he got up as the large crowd began to clap. Eren ventured up the stairs to the stage to receive his award. Then he stood at the podium for a little acceptance speech.

“Well, firstly, I’d like to thank my wonderful husband for being so inspiring--” Eren was cut off by clapping. Once it calmed, he started up again. “And for writing the book. If he didn’t write it, I wouldn’t be standing here, obviously.” A few laughs erupted from the people he looked upon, but his eyes landed on Levi who was crossing his arms, trying his best to look indifferent. Eren saw right through his act. “I want to seriously thank him though. He’s been so great in supporting me and encouraging me when times were tough on the both of us. This is yours, too, Levi.” He smiled brightly.

Heat found residence on Levi’s cheeks. “Get off the stage already, you idiot,” he said, just loud enough for the people around him and Eren to hear.

Eren nodded. “Right, sorry. Thank you!” And he went back to his seat next to Levi. He leaned against him, intertwining their fingers. Eren fingered Levi’s ring for a moment before saying, “I love you.”

Levi leaned his head on his. “I love you, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanna say thanks myself to all of the people who put up with this for so long, and for being patient with me as I literally took a year to write something. I'm getting back into the swing of things!
> 
> WOOOO.
> 
> I can say with confidence that my writing has improved greatly since this story first started! (I would hope so, it's been like two years..)
> 
> Anyway. Thanks again for sticking around. I hope the ending is satisfying. Thank you for reading :D


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